DISCOURSE VI.
Exodus xx. 4, 5, 6.
Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Image, nor the Likeness of any thing
that is in Heaven above, or in the Earth beneath, or in the Water under the
Earth: 'Thou shalt not bow down to them., nor worship them; for I the Lord thy
God am a jealous God, visiting the Iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children,
to the third and fourth Generation of them that hate me, and shewing Mercy to
thousands, in them that love me, and keep my Commandments.
GOD Almighty having in the First Commandment settled the true Object of
divine Worship, and confin'd it wholly to himself, in opposition to all manner
of Idols or false Gods; he proceeds in this Second Commandment to direct us in
the right manner of performing it: which is not by any Images or visible
Representations of him, but in a more spiritual manner, and in a way suited to
his Nature and Will. This is the Design of these words, Thou shalt not make to
thyself any graven Image, &c.
Now this Commandment being Negative, I must consider sirst what is forbidden,
and then what is commanded in it. I begin then with what is forbidden, and that
is chiefly these two Things, the Making, and the Worshipping of any graven
Image. For the
First, We are here expresly forbidden to make to ourselves any graven Image, or
the Likeness, &c.
Not that all making of Images, Pictures or Representations of any Creature is
hereby prohibited, or that the Trade of the Painter, Carver or Engraver are
simply unlawful, as some have vainly imagin'd: for we find some Images made and
appointed by the order of God himself, as the Cherubims, the golden Mice, the
brazen Serpent, and the like; and Moses ascribes the Skill of Aholiab and
Sezaleel, in working the Work of an Engraver, to the Holy Spirit of God, Exod.
35. 31. So that all Images or Representations of things are not here absolutely
forbidden, for that would condemn all Pictures or Likeness of any Thing, and
render our very Coin unlawful.
But the Images here forbidden to be made, are Images of God, or Representations
of the Divine Nature, which being spiritual and immaterial, may not be
represented by any Bodily Shape; yea, God being infinite and incomprehensible,
cannot be represented by, or thought to be inclos'd in any Image, without
debasing and disparaging of him. And therefore the Prophet asks the question,
To whom will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare to him? Isa. 40.
18. The Apostle wills us not to think the Godhead to be like unto Gold or
Silver, or Stone graven by the Art and Invention of Men, Acts 17. 29. And much
less to change the Glory of the incorruptible God into an Image made like to
corruptible Man, to Birds, or four-footed Beasts, or creeping Things; Rom. 1.
23.
There is such a vast disproportion between an Image and the Divine Nature, that
we cannot liken one to the other without belying and affronting it: for since
an Image can only be made of Corporeal Things, and such as are finite and
corruptible, to make an Image of God, is to bring down that infinite Being to
the scantiness and dimensions of a finite Creature, and in effect to deny the
Spirituality and Incorruptibility of his Nature. And therefore we find a very
strict Charge given to the Israelites against this Imagemaking, 'Deut. 4. 15.
'Take good heed unto yourselves, for you saw no Image in the day when the Lord
spake unto you in Horeb, out of the midst of the Fire, that you corrupt not yourselves,
and make you a graven Image. And in this Commandment we have an express
Prohibition of making any Likeness of God by any thing, either in Heaven above,
as by the Sun, Moon and Stars; or in the Earth beneath, as by the Fowls of the
Air, the four-footed Beasts or creeping Things; or in the Water under the
Earth, by the Fish, or any thing that walks through the Paths of the Sea ; no,
nor yet by the Likeness of Man, the Lord of all these. For tho God made Man in
his own Image, yet Man is not to make God in his, by reason of the infinite
distance and disproportion between them: and tho he be sometimes describ'd in
Scripture with Eyes, Hands and Arms, and the like, yet this is merely in
compliance with our Infirmities, and is spoken after the manner of Men, and is
to be understood in a way becoming the Divine Majesty' but cannot warrant the
making any Image of him, or picturing him in a human Shape, which is to
prostitute our Maker, and to think him such a one as ourselves: yea, this is to
confine Ubiquity to a place, to circumscribe Immensity, and to degrade the
Deity to the Properties and Infirmities of Human Nature. We may not then
represent God in a bodily Shape, or form false Apprehensions of him in our
Mind, by making him like ourselves; the first thing forbidden in this
Commandment.
Secondly, As we may not make, so much less are we permitted to worship any
Image or Representation of God, 'Thou shalt not bow down to it, or worship it;
where we have mention made of a twofold Worship: The one
External, consisting in the outward Reverence and Bowin g of
the Body. The other
Internal, in the inward Worship and Reverence of the Mind. Both which are here
forbidden to be given to any Image.
1. We are forbidden to give any bodily Worship to Images, by bowing or falling
down to them; Thou shalt not bow down to them. The Israelites were strictly
charg'd not to serve other Gods, or bow themselves unto them. And such were
sharply reprov'd, that bowed the knee to Baal, or fell down before any Idol. The
Idolatry of the Heathens is frequently set forth by the Gestures of
Incurvation, Prostration, Geniculation, and other visible Acts of bodily
Reverence us'd to their false Deities; which being Tokens of the inward Delight
and Devotion of their Minds towards them, were Invasions of God's Prerogative,
and therefore strictly prohibited by him. But,
2. The internal Worship and Reverence of the Heart, is here chiefly
forbidden to be given to Images ; for this is to make them Gods, and to give
the Glory due to God only, to the Works of Mens Hands, which is Idolatry to be
abhor'd of all Christians.
3. Not only the worshipping of Images, but of God by them, is here forbidden in
this Commandment. The worshipping of false Gods, is the Idolatry condemn'd in
the first Commandment; the worshipping the true God in a false way, is the
Idolatry forbidden in this. The ruder and more barbarous Nations, that mistook
the Object of Worship, and paid it to Stocks and Stones, were guilty of the
former; some of the wiser and more knowing among the Heathens, who when they
knew God, yet glorified him not as God, were guilty of the latter: these two
are in Scripture stil'd Idolaters, as we read in the first Chapter to the
Romans, where these wiser Heathens are charg'd with it, because tho they knew
God by the Creation of the World, yet they worship'd him in a way unsuitable to
his Nature, namely, by Images and corporeal Resemblances of him; changing his
Glory. into the Similitude of Men, Beasts, and Birds: and tho they did not
terminate their Worship in the Images, but only serv'd God by them, it being
impossible for the wiser part of them to take that for a God or Maker of the
World, which they either made with their own Hands, or saw made with their own
Eyes; yet their serving of God this way so unworthy of him, is in Scripture
call'd Idolatry. This, some Persons in the World may do well to consider, who
worship God much after the same way, and seek to salve it with the same
Distinctions.
'Tis most certain that there is a peculiar and incommunicable piece of Homage
due to the great Creator of all Things, upon the account of his infinite and
adorable Perfections, and our great Obligations to him: this is what we call
Divine Worship, and is challeng'd by God himself in the Old Testament, and
confin'd to him by our Saviour in the New, in thofe words; 'Thou shalt worship
the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And tho they who give some of
this elsewhere, as upon Images and other Things, would excuse it by making these
things not the Objects of Worship, but only Means and Helps to direct and carry
it farther, even to God himself; yet 'tis to be fear'd that too much of it
falls by the way on the Image, and that God is ,robb'd of all that miscarries,
or falls beside him. And therefore to prevent this, I shall proceed, in the
Next place, to the Sanction by which this Prohibition is, enforc'd: and
that is taken,
Partly, from God Almighty's Jealousy and Tenderness for his Honour; For I the
Lord thy God, am a jealous God. And partly, from his just Indignation and
severe Punishment ef those that violate and invade it; Visiting the Iniquities
of the Fathers upon the Children, unto the third and fourth Generation of them
that hate me. For the
First, The Jealousy of God is a sufficient Affrightment from offering this kind
of Affront or Indignity to him: for if the Jealousy of a Man be justly to be
dreaded of all that give occasion for it, because it stirs up the highest
Resentment of such a violation of his Honour, and arms him with a more than
ordinary Courage to vindicate it; and tho the cause of it be Love, yet the
effect is commonly Revenge and Ruin; for which reason, Solomon styles Jealousy
the Rage of a Man, Prov. 6. 34. certainly the Jealousy of God, who is more
tender of his Honour, and far more able to repair it, is much more to be
dreaded by all wilful Invaders of it.
That God is thus tender and jealous in this Case, impatient of any Rival, and
will not admit any Sharers with him in the Love and Honour we are to pay him,
himself hath frequently told us: I am the Lord ('saith he by the Prophet
Isaiah) this is my Name, and my Glory will I not give to another, nor my
'Praise to graven Images; Isa. 42. 8. In this Commandment he adds, I am the
Lord thy God, in Covenant with thee, having betroth'd thee to myself, and
singled thee out to set my Love upon thee, and therefore will not bear the
invading of my Honour, nor suffer thee to go a whoring after other Vanities: By
this, Idolatry appears to be a spiritual Adultery, a Violation of the Love and
Duty we owe to our Maker, express'd in Scripture by committing Fornication
against him j and is therefore laid to provoke the Lord to Jealousy.
Now the Jealousy here ascrib'd to God must not be taken for such a disquieting
vexatious Passion, as is wont to ruffle and discompose Mankind in such Cases;
for that is not compatible with the divine Nature; but must be understood by
way of Accommodation and Similitude, signifying that God will stand affected
towards the Breakers of this Law, as Men are wont to be that are edg'd on and
enrag'd by Jealousy; and will deal with them as one mov'd with that violent
Passion, tho at the fame time it cannot in the least impair or interrupt his
own Felicity. Furthermore,
The word El-kanah here signifies a Strong as well as a Jealous God, and gives
us to understand that he is able to vindicate his Honour, and will certainly
punish all the Injuries offer'd to it. Jealousy of itself without Strength is
but but an impotent and contemptible Passion; but when arm'd with an Almighty
Power, it is justly terrible: then 'tis Cruel as the Grave (as Solomon
expresses it) the Coals thereof are as the Coals of Fire, which break into a
vehement Flame; Cant. 8. 6. And therefore Moses in this very Precept about
Images, minds the Israelites, The Lord thy God is a consuming Fire, he is
jealous God: And elsewhere brings in God Almighty thus declaring, They have
moved me to Jealousy with that which is not God, they have provoked me to Anger
with their Vanities : A Fire is kindled in mine Anger, and shall burn to the
lowest Hell; and shall consume the Earth with her Increase, and set on fire the
Foundations of the Mountains; Deut. 32. 21, 22.
And now I may well enough ask the Apostle's Question of all that suffer their
Hearts and Affections to stray from their Maker; Do we provoke the Lord to
Jealousy, are we stronger than he? Can thy Heart bear up, or thy Hands be
strong in the day that he shall deal with thee? No, 'tis a fearful thing to
fall into the Hands of the living God; into which, the forsaking of God, and
the following of Idols, will certainly cast us.
And this will lead me to the
Second part of the Sanction of this Law, taken from the Justice of God in
punishing the Breakers of it, in those words; Visiting the Iniquities of the
Fathers upon the Children to the third and fourth Generation of them that hate
me. To visit is sometimes taken in a good sense, for beholding another with an
eye of Pity and Compassion; in which sense David prays, Visit. me, O Lord, with
thy Salvation: Sometimes in a bad sense, for looking on with an eye of Fury and
Revenge, and visiting with Judgments and Calamities; in which sense it occurs
here, where God Almighty threatens to punish the Offenders against this Law,
both in their Persons and Posterity. And,
1. He visits this Iniquity upon the Fathers themselves: of this kind the Holy
Scriptures afford many Examples, God Almighty executing his Judgments upon
Idolaters, and frequently punishing his own People, when they revolted from
him, and set up their molten Images.
2. He visits this Iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children: this we find
verify'd in many of the Kings of Israel and Judah, who for their Idolatry were
punish'd not only in their own Persons, but in their Posterity; God
recompensing the Iniquity of the Fathers into the Bosom of their Children after
them; as we read, Jer. 32. 18. And that,
3. To the third and fourth Generation; those being Generations which a Man may
live to see. Now as the Prosperity of Children is one of the greatest Comforts
of human Life, and all Parents delight to behold such flourishing Branches of
themselves; so to see them in Misery and Trouble, is a most doleful and
heart-breaking Prospect: And therefore God Almighty, to deter Men from the
Transgressing of this Law, denounces Vengeance against the posterity of such as
break it, threatning their Children to the third and fourth Generation, and
punishing their Idolatries thro' the whole Line that they are capable of
seeing; by which it appears, that Sinners entail a Curse upon their Offspring,
and make their Childrens Children miserable by their Impieties. But how can it
consist with the Justice and Goodness of God, to punish the Children for their
Parents faults? especially having declar'd, that the Soul that sinneth, that
shall die; the Son shall not bear the Iniquity of the Father, nor the Father
the Iniquity of the Son, but the Righteousness of the Righteous shall be upon
him, and the Wickedness of the Wicked upon him. Now to this the Answer is easy
and obvious. For,
(1.) God's visiting the Sins of the Fathers upon the Children is always upon
supposition of making their Fathers Sins their own, by imitating their
Examples, and treading in the steps of their Impieties; for so God himself
tells them, If your Children forsake my Law, and walk not in my Statutes, I
will visit their 'Transgressions with the Rod, and their Sins with Scourges:
otherwise, if the Son forsake the Iniquities of his Father, he shall not die,
he shall surely live, saith the Lord.
God never visits the Sins of the Fathers upon penitent and reforming Children;
but if they imitate their Fathers Wickedness, 'tis but just and righteous that
they suffer for them: in which case, they are punish'd not for their Fathers
Sins, but their own.
(2.) Because Idolatrous Parents are too apt to corrupt their Childien by their
evil Counsel and Example, God Almighty to deter them from it, threatens to
punish the Fathers in their Children; which he may as well do, as in their
Houses and Estates, or any thing that appertains to them: for Children are a
part of the Goods and Substance of the Parents, who are deeply concern'd in
their Welfare or Misery ; and therefore God may justly visit them in thofe dearest
Pledges of themselves, if they mislead them into their Impieties: in which case
he doth not so much make the Children suffer the Punishment of their Fathers
Sin, as the Fathers suffer for their own.
(3.) God Almighty may and often doth visit the Iniquities of the Fathers upon
their Children with temporal Punishments : in which case the the Calamity be
the Child's, yet the Punishment is properly the Father's; he is wounded in one
of the nearest and tenderest parts of himself, tho it may work together for
good to the repenting Child. Indeed God never visits the Fathers Sins upon the
Children with eternal Punishments, in which sense every one must hear his own
Burden; but he justly may and doth with temporal Evils, for the Correction and
Amendment of both.
But who are the Persons against whom this Threat is denoune'd? Why, that the
next words will inform us, in which he is said to visit the Iniquities of the
Fathers upon the Children in them that hate him; that is, in them that
transgress his Laws: for as the loving of God is express'd by keeping his
Commandments, so the breaking of them is styl'd the hating of him. But
Idolaters and the Worshippers of Images are more especially call'd Haters of
God: for as the Adulteress shews her hatred and contempt of her Husband, by
giving herself to the Embraces of another; so they cast off the Love of God,
who go a whoring after their own Inventions: and they who give that Worship to
Images that is due to God only, may be truly said to hate him.
But there is another Branch of the Sanction of this Law, taken from the
Goodness of God both to the Persons and Posterities of those that love him and
keep his Commandments, which shall be consider'd in the next.
DISCOURSE VII.
Exodus xx. 4, 5, 6.
Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Image, nor the Likeness of any thing
that is in Heaven above, or in the Earth beneath, or in the Water under the
Earth: 'Thou shalt not bow down to them., nor worship them; for I the Lord thy
God am a jealous God, visiting the Iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children,
to the third and fourth Generation of them that hate me, and shewing Mercy to
thousands, in them that love me, and keep my Commandments.
HAVING spoken of the Negative part of this Precept, which forbids the making
and worshipping of Images; I proceed to the Affirmative part of it, or what is
requir'd in it: And that is, the worshipping of God in a right way, or after a
due manner; which (as appears by what has been said before) is the worshipping
of him in any way suitable to his Nature and Will.
1st, I say, this Commandment requires us to serve God in a way suitable to his
Nature; that is, not by Images or corporeal Resemblances: for he having no
bodily Parts, is not to be represented in a bodily Shape, which is to debase
and belye him; but being a spiritual Substance, must be serv'd with a spiritual
Worship: for so our Saviour declares, John 4. 24. God is a Spirit, and they
that worship him, must worship him in Spirit and Truth. For the better clearing
whereof, we may note,
1. That the worshipping of God in Spirit and Truth doth not exclude all bodily
Worship, as we shall see by and by: for this, tho perform'd by the Body, is
nevertheless spiritual Worship; for it proceeds from the Spirit of God exciting
our Spirits to the performance of it, and is (as one has well observ'd)
directed by a spiritual Rule, to a spiritual End, the Glory of God, and our own
Salvation.
Nor yet, 2. Does the worshipping of God in Spirit exclude all serving of him
with Rites and Ceremonies; for God's appointing them under the Law, when he was
as much a Spirit, and requir'd to be serv'd in Spirit as well as now; and
likewise his enjoining the Rites and Ceremonies of the two Sacraments under the
Gospel; shew these not to be inconsistent with spiritual Worship, but rather
Helps and Furtherances of it.
To worship him then in Spirit and Truth, is to worship him with our Spirits,
and not with the Tongue only ; to draw nigh to him with our Hearts, and not
barely with the Lips; and to serve him truly and sincerely, in opposition to
all feign'd, formal, and hypocritical Service. In short, to serve him suitably
to his Nature, is to have our Affection stirring towards him in a way becoming
his several Attributes; that is, to love him for his Goodness, to fear him for
his Greatness, to trust him for his Faithfulness, and to honour him for all his
divine and adorable Perfections.
2dly, To worship God aright, we are to do it not only in a way suitable to his
Nature, but likewise agreeable with his Will; that is, we must serve him
according to his Direction and Appointment, and no otherwise: for divine
Worship being that Homage, which as Creatures we owe to our great Creator, 'tis
but fit that he himself should have the ordering of it, and that we should do
in it as he hath commanded: to do otherwise, is to disclaim his Authority and
to be guided only by our own Will, which is the worst sort of Will-worship.
But here it may be ask'd, whether nothing may be done in the Worship of God,
but what is expresly commanded by him? To which I answer, by distinguishing
between the substantial parts of divine Worship, and the accidental or
alterable Circumstances of it. As for the
Substantial part of Religion, consisting of all that is necessary to be
believ'd or done in order to Salvation, that requires the express Precept and
Revelation of God, without which nothing is to be so esteem'd: for God himself
is the best Judge both how he should, and how he will be serv'd; and having deliver'd
his mind about it in Holy Scripture, we are to make that the Rule and Standard
of our Duty: to add to it, would be to charge it with Imperfection, and to make
a new Religion of our own. But tor the
Circumstantial part of divine Worship, such as Time, Place, Gesture, and the
like; these being not particularly determin'd by God in the Holy Scripture, are
in a great measure left to every one's Discretion in their private Worship, and
to the Prudence and Authority of Superiors in the Public Service of the Church,
whom we are bid to obey in such things for the Lord's sake.
But here Care must be taken,
1. That the Rites and Ceremonies so enjoin'd be suitable to those general Rules
of Order, Decency, and Edification, prescrib'd by God himself, and that they be
every way fitting and becoming his Service.
2. That they be not too numerous and cumbersome, lest they prove a Clog rather
than Convenience to the divine Service. And,
Lastly, That they neither be enjoin'd or observ'd as essential parts of
Worship, or as things in themselves pleasing unto God and necessary to
Salvation; for this is to add to the Substance of Religion, and to teach for
Doctrines the Commandments of Men; but only as outward Circumstances for the
Order and Comeliness of public Worship, and as things that may vary, as Times,
and Place, and other Occasions, may require. And where these Conditions are
observ'd, the Service thus injoin'd and perform'd is agreeable to the Will of
God, and is part of the Duty here requir'd in this Commandment.
By which it appears, that the Worship of God here inculcated upon us in
this Precept, is partly Internal, and partly External.
The Internal part of it is the Worship of our Hearts and Souls, whereby we
inwardly admire and adore his divine Excellencies, esteeming, loving, fearing
and trusting him as our great Creator and best Benefactor: and all this not in
Pretence and Appearance only, but in Sincerity and Truth, not in Word or in
Tongue, but in Deed and in Truth, from the very bottom of the Heart.
The External part of this Worship, is the Worship of the Body or outward
Man, whereby we express the inward Reverence of the Mind, by the outward humble
Gestures of the Body; which God frequently calls for, and David exhorts to in
those words, O come let us worship and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our
Maker. This some Expositors of this Commandment have thought to be principally
intended and requir'd in it; making the former, that is, the internal Worship
of the Soul, to be requir'd in the First Commandment: the latter, viz. the
external Worship of the Body, to be commanded in this: in which, as God forbids
the bowing down or giving any bodily Worship to graven Images, so he requires
the Bowing down and other Gestures of bodily Adoration to be given to himself.
But because these humble Gestures, and all other Acts of bodily Reverence have
been decry'd and impugn'd by some, and are still but too much neglected by
others; 'twill be requisite to add something, to recommend and enforce this
bodily Worship upon us. To which end, we may observe,
1. That as he challenges this external Worship as due to himself, so he
threatens to punish all such as give it to any other: he here forbids the
bowing or falling down to any graven Image, as an Invasion of his Prerogative,
and shews that the prostituting our Bodies as well as Souls to them, will stir
up his Jealousy. How sharply are the Israelites reprov'd for bowing the knee to
Baal? And the Idolatry of the Heathens is frequently express'd in Scripture, by
their serving other Gods, and bowing themselves unto them, Josh. 23. 16.
Whereby it appears, that as these visible Acts of outward Worship are not to be
paid to any false Deities, so are they claim'd, and to be carefully perform'd
to the true God.
2. God Almighty created the Body as well as the Soul, and united them together
for his Service, and therefore he expects the Homage of both. Indeed the
Service of the Heart and the Soul is what he principally regards and calls for:
My Son, give me thy Heart, faith he; that being the best Offering we can make
to a spiritual and immaterial Being; without which, all other Service is but
dead and unsavory. But yet he hath an eye likewise to the Service of the Body,
and expects the Humility and Adoration of the outward Man ; he calls for the
Ear, to hear Instruction; for the Eyes, to be lifted up in Prayer; for the
Tongue, to speak the Praises of our Maker: In a word, he expects that our whole
Man should bow with the profoundest Awe and Reverence to him, before he will
bow his Ear, or incline to hear us; and justly too, for 'tis he that made us,
and not we ourselves; 'tis he that fram'd and sustains our Bodies, and
therefore all the Members of it are to be employ'd and devoted to his Service.
3. Our Bodies as well as Souls partake of the Benefits of Christ's Redemption;
and therefore both are to be dedicated to him, and to join together in his
Service: Ye are bought with a Price, saith the Apostle; which he affirms there
of the whole Man, both Body and Soul, which are both the Purchase of his Blood,
and justify'd by his Redemption; for which reason he tells us we are not our
own, to dispose and order ourselves as we please; but being bought with a
Price, we are to glorify God in our Bodies, and in our Spirits, which are both
his, 1 Cor. 6. last. In the verse immediately preceding, he styles our Bodies
the Temples of the Holy Ghost, in which therefore we are to worship our Maker;
and being redeem'd and sanctify'd by his Holy Spirit, ought to be consecrated
to his Service.
Lastly, We hope to be glorify'd hereafter in our Bodies as well as Souls, and
therefore both are to glorify God here. Many and great things are declar'd
concerning the future Felicity of our Bodies, that they shall be fashion'd like
unto Christ's glorious Body, being impassible and incorruptible like his, and
made for ever Vessels of Honour fitted and prepar'd for our Master's use: and
being to be crown'd with such invaluable Blessings hereafter, 'tis but
reasonable to fit them for it, by engaging them in his Service here; presenting
our Bodies to him, as a living, holy, and acceptable Sacrifice, which is our
reasonable Service.
Thus we see what is requir'd of us in this Commandment; namely, to raise our
Minds above all gross Sense and Fancy in our Adorations of our Maker, not
framing any outward Images or Resemblances to worship him by, as the manner of
some is; nor forming any false Notions or Misrepresentations of him within, by
thinking him such a one as ourselves, and serving him accordingly, as others
do, who fondly imagine him delighted only or chiefly with new Phrases, and that
he must be daily serv'd with suddenly conceiv'd and varied Prayers: which
Mistakes proceed from some false Ideas and Misapprehensions of him, which we
are here willed to remove.
Moreover, we are here commanded to entertain high and worthy Thoughts of him;
conceiving of him as a Being transcendently perfect, infinitely superior to all
in Goodness, Justice, Wisdom, and Power; and so to be lov'd, fear'd and trusted
above all, and directing all our Service to him with such Apprehensions: which
is to worship him in Spirit and in Truth.
And this is to be done not only with the inward, but with the outward Man; that
is, the Body as well as the Mind it to be employ'd in these Adorations. The
negative Precept here, Thou shalt not bow down to a graven Image, includes the
contrary positive Duty, 'Thou shalt bow down to the Lord thy God: meaning, that
our bodily Worship, as well as that of the Mind, is due and must be paid to
him. He that bows, or kneels, or uses any Posture of Reverence to a graven
Image, breaks this Commandment by Idolatry: And he that refuses to bow or
kneel, or use any reverent Posture in public Worship unto God, breaks it by
Sacrilege; for God is equally robb'd of his Honour, whether we give it to
another, or deny it to himself.
This Commandment then as much requires us to bow down and kneel, and give
bodily Worship unto God, as it forbids us to give it to a graven Image: And the
Practice of holy Men in all Ages hath been accordingly, who have been equally
forward to do the one, as to deny the other. In the Old Testament we find the
People of God always using a Posture of Reverence in the Worship of God, by
standing, or kneeling, or prostrating themselves ; but we never read of any
irreverently sitting at their Devotions. In the New Testament we find our
blessed Saviour and his Disciples in all their Prayers unto God either bowing,
kneeling, or prostrating themselves before him; which is that glorifying God
with their Bodies enjoin'd and practis'd by them: And where this is neglected,
he reckons himself dishonour'd and despis'd by us.
Indeed, the inward Reverence and Devotion of the Mind will evermore draw after
it this outward Reverence of the Body: And therefore we find the whole Worship
of God represented in Scripture by these external visible Acts of Adoration;
the outward bending and bowing of the Body being both the Signs and Effects of
the inward bending and submission of the Soul to him. Hence bowing and kneeling
unto God is generally in Scripture us'd to signify the worshipping of him, as
we may see in 'Psal. 95. 5. Mic. 6. 6.
This therefore is here requir'd to be paid unto God and no other: And that
first because he is a jealous God, that is infinitely tender of this outward as
well as inward Honour, and impatient of any Competitor in this incommunicable
Homage that belongs to him. Again,
He threatens to visit the Iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children to the
fourth Generation of them that thus invade and defraud him of his Honour; that
is, their Posterity shall fare the worse for it, their Childrens Children shall
be capable of less Favour, and be more strictly and severely dealt with upon
this scores the Justice whereof we before vindicated.
Lastly, To encourage the Observance of this Law, he adds, that he will shew
mercy unto thousands of them that love him and keep his Commandments. Not that
he will forbear to punish the offending Children of good Men; no, we find him
declaring, That if their Children forsake his Law, and keep not his
Commandments, he will visit their transgression with the Rod, and their Sin
with Scourges; nevertheless (saith he) my Loving-Kindness will I not utterly
take from them; Psal. 89. 90, &c. that is, he will deal more favourably
with them for their Parents sake. The Misdeeds of some shall not interrupt his
Kindness to the rest of their Posterity, or blot out the Memory of their
Goodness. This we find verify'd in the Posterity of Abraham and the other
Patriarchs, in whom God Almighty overlook'd many and great Provocations for
their sake, mixing Mercy with Severity, and settling them at last in the
promis'd Land. Moreover,
We may observe here the vast difference and disproportion between
the Proceedings of God in the way of Justice and the way of Mercy: He visiteth
the Iniquities of disobedient Parents to the third or fourth Generation; but he
sheweth Mercy to a thousand Generations of those that obey him. He soon forgets
the Wrongs done to him, but keeps our good Works in everlasting Remembrance:
which may teach us not only to imitate him herein, but may likewise encourage
us to serve and obey so good a Master.
Furthermore, lest any should vainly expect these' Instances of Divine
Goodness, without observing the Conditions annex'd to them, the last words of
the Commandment confine them wholly to those that love God and keep his
Commandments: where as the Revolters from God were before styl'd Haters of him,
so they that obey his Laws, are here said to love him. He that hath my
Commandments and keepeth them (saith our Saviour) he it is that loveth me; John
14. 15, 21. and elsewhere, If any Man loveth me, he will keep my Word.
Finally then, to conclude this Commandment, we learn hence the Happiness of
descending from good Parents, who bequeath a Blessing, and derive Mercy upon
their Offspring to many Generations: And likewise the sad Misfortune of being
born of disobedient Parents, who entail Misery and a Curse upon their whole
Posterity; which should teach us, not only for our own, but our Children’s
sake, to be ever mindful of keeping God's Laws, and very tender of breaking
them.
