commended. And when the deuill bad our Sauiour Christ, but to bowe downe the knee vnto him, and he would giue him the whole worlde: Christ reiects his offer, saying, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him onely shalt thou serue. Math. 4. 10. Againe it is lawefull for one man to worship another with ciuill worship, but to worship man with religious honour is vnlawefull. For all religious worship is prescribed in the first table: and the honour due to man is onely prescribed in the second table and the first commandement thereof, Honour thy father: which honour is therefore ciuill and not religious. Now the meanest man that can be, is a more excellent image of God, then all the images of God or of Saints that are deuised by men. Augustine, and long after him Gregorie, in plaine tearmes denieth images to be adored.
The Papists defend their opinions by these reasons. I. Psal. 99.5. Cast downe your selues before his footestoole. Ans. The wordes are thus to be read: Bowe at his footestoole: that is, at the Arke and Mercyseat, for there he hath made a pro∣mise of his presence: the words therefore say not, bow to the Arke, but to God at the Arke.
II. Obiect. Exod. 3.5. God said to Moses, Stand afar off and put off thy shoes, for the place is holy. Nowe if holy places must be reuerenced, then much more holy images, as the crosse of Christ, and such like. Ans. God commaunded the ceremony of putting off the shoes, that he might thereby strike Moses with a religious reuerence, not of the place but of his own maiestie, whose pre∣sence made the place holy. Let them shewe the like warrant for images.
III. Obiect. It is lawefull to kneele downe to a chaire of estate in the ab∣sence of the king or Queene: therefore much more to the images of God & of Saints in heauen glorified, beeing absent from vs. Answer. To kneele to the chaire of estate, is no more but a ciuil testimonie, or signe of ciuill reue∣rence by which all good subiects when occasion is offered, shewe their loyal∣tie and subiection to their lawfull princes. And this kneeling beeing on this manner, and to no other ende, hath sufficient warrant in the worde of God. But kneeling to the image of any Saint departed, is religious and conse∣quently more then ciuill worship, as the Papists themselues confesse. The ar∣gument then prooueth nothing, vnlesse they wil keepe themselues to one and the same kind of worship.
III. Differ. The Papists also teach, that God may be lawfully worshipped in images, in which he hath appeared vnto men: as the Father, in the image of an old man: the sonne in the image of a man crucified: and the holy Ghost in the likenes of a doue, &c. But we hold it vnlawefull to worship God, in, by, or at any image: for this is the thing which (as I haue prooued before) the second commandement forbiddeth. And the fact of the Israelites, Exod. 32. in wor∣shipping the golden calfe is condemned as flat idolatrie; albeit they worship∣ped not the calfe but God in the calfe; for v. 5. Aaron saith, Tomorrow shall bee the solemnitie of Iehouah: whereby he doth giue vs to vnderstand, that the calfe was but a signe of Iehouah whome they worshipped. Obiect. It seemes the Is∣raelites worshipped the calfe. For Aaron saith, v. 4. These bee thy Gods (O Isra∣el) that brought thee out of Egypt. Ans. Aarons meaning is nothing else, but that the golden calfe was a signe of the presence of the true God. And the name of