bibition of God, to make it of no Effect, and which will Excufe the Heathens as much as your felves.

L. Our Catechifm ad Parochos (which is our Text) in the Place laft Quoted, Sect. xxxiv. teaches us, That the Heathen when they made Images of Serpents, Beafts, &c. they Worshipped all these as God. Hæc enim omnia tanquam Deum venerabantur. And that the Ifraelites

thought the fame of the Golden Calf, for that they said, Thefe are the Gods that brought thee out of Egypt, and therefore that they were Idolaters, because they thus (a) Changed their Glory into the Similitude of a Calf that eateth Grass.

G. It is very Abfurd to fay, That the Heathen thought their Images to be the things of which they were the Images. That was Impoffible, for then they would not be the Images but the Things themfelves. Who ever faid, that a Man's Picture was himself? Though they are called the Perfons, as when we look upon Pictures we fay, This is fuch a Man, or fuch a Man: But if any fhould put it upon us, that we meant the Perfons themselves, we must think them Idiots or School-Men, that loved Diftinctions and Wrangling. Maximus Tyrius in the Differtation before Quoted, tells us, that they had many Images of the fame God, as of Venus, Diana, &c. and yet that they did not think there was more than one Venus or one Diana

(a) Pfal cvi. 20.

Diana. Have not you Multitudes of the PiEtures and Images of the Virgin Mary? And yet you fay not that ther is more than one fuch Virgin. Now the Heathen Worshipped their Images, and if you believe your own Catechism, you must think that they took every one for God, for Hæc omnia, they worshipped all these as God!

And it is as abfurd to think that they took that Serpent or Beaft whose Image they made, to be God. Or if they meant not any particular Serpent or Ox (for Example) by the Image, they must think every Ox or Serpent to be God! But they were not fo Ridiculous, as Maximus Tyrius, and all, as many of them as have wrote, will fatisfy you. But that they made Ufe of their Images only as Symbols, which being Dediented to fuch à God, they thought that this God would afford his Prefence with his Symbol, and by it fecure to them his Favour and Prote tion. How near your Confecration comes to their Dedication of Images, I leave to your felves to judge. But you put fuch monftrous things upon the Heathen, as they Difown, Deteft, and Abhor. And yet you must do it, that your Cafe and theirs may not appear fo very like.

But you must draw in the Jews too, elfe all this will stand you in no ftead. And you have no Mercy upon them, you fuppofe them full as Ignorant as you have made the Heathen. They must believe that the Golden Calf, on the fame Day they made it, to be the Great God Who

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Who made themselves and all the World, and to have brought them out of Egypt long before it felf was made! But the Jews will not let this go with you more than the Heathen. They were not quite fo foolish. They had learned the Ufe of Images and Symbols in Egypt. And it is plain they did here Imitate it. They had feen Ofiris worshipped in Egypt under the Figure of an Ox, from which they took their Figure of the Calf. And it was to fecure God's Prefence among them, upon the Suppofed Lofs of Mofes, by whom they had Received their Law from God, and Directions from Him upon all Occafions. But Mofes had been absent from them 40 Days, and took neither Meat nor Drink with him, fo that they thought he had been quite Gone or Dead, and that they should never See him more. And then how fhould they do to Secure the Prefence of God among them? And they took to this way of an Image or Symbol of God, not that they forfook God, but to take Care that He might not forfake them. And they meant His Worship in that of the Golden Calf. Therefore they Proclaimed the Dedication of it, (a) A Feaft unto the Lord. And that it was wholly for the Want of Mofes they did it, (by whom they had found, by long Experience, the Prefence of God Secured among them) they themselves gave the Reafon : (b) Up (faid they) make us Gods

which

(a) Exod. xxxii. 5. (b) Ver. 1.

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which shall go before us; for as for this Mofes, the Man that brought us up out of the Land of Egypt, we Wot not what is become of him.

Pray, My Lord, let me afk you, suppose it were made Treafon to draw a Picture of the King, or to Bow to it: Would you venture your Life upon all these Diftinctions and Excufes which are made for the Pictures of God? Yet we venture our Souls upon it, if it be a Sin: And though we think it may be Beneficial to ús, as putting us in Mind of Him, or paying Refpect unto Him.

Now by this let us learn how Dangerous a thing it is to make Means of Grace of our own Invention, and to think that by our Confecra tions or Dedications, without Warrant of God's Word, we can fecure his Prefence with us, and Procure the Grace of Health or any Benefit either to Body or Soul. This is turning Religion into Superftition.

(37.) But the ftrangest Inftance of this that ever was in the World is that of Tranf-fubftantiation, a meer School-nicety which no Man alive Understands, and yet Transformed into an Article of Faith by the Council of Trent.

Chrift faid, This is my Body, but as to the Manner or Means how it was fo, He faid not a Word; whether only Sacramentally, Figuratively, or Symbolically: Or on the other hand, whe ther, Subftantially, Con-fubftantially, or Tranf fubftantially. These are Inventions of our own, from our poor Philofophy! And yet about these Ka

is our whole Difpute, which has Tormented the Chriftian Church in our later Age more than all the other Mysteries of Religion. Had we kept to the Words of Inftitution as Chrift left them, and gone no further, there might have been various Opinions in the Schools concerning. the Manner of the Prefence of Chrift, in the Sacrament; and they who had nothing else to do might have fpent their idle Hours, and vain Diftinctions about it: But it had never broke the Communion of the Church, if it had not been adopted into an Article of Faith, and made a Condition of Communion: And now we must difpute it. And the first thing I have to fay is, That it feems very strange there fhould be any Difpute about it. For our Saviour was then fulfilling a Type of himfelf which was the Paffover, and he kept to the fame Phrafe or Form of Words which was Cuftomary with the Jews in their Celebration of it, only putting Himfelf in the Room of His Type, as instead of This is the Pafchal Lamb which was flain for us in Egypt, He faid, This is my Body which is given for you. And when Mofes fprinkled the Blood, it was with this Form of Words, (a.) This is the Blood of the Teftament which God hath Enjoyned unto you. Inftead of which Old Teftament, Chrift faid, (b.) This is my Blood of the New Teftament. In which Words there is no Difficulty at all, for no Mortal ever understood thefe Words of Mo

fes

(a) Heb. ix. zo. (b) Matth. xxvi. 28,