Shlohavot, or, The burning of London in the year 1666 commemorated and improved in a CX discourses, meditations, and contemplations, divided into four parts treating of I. The sins, or spiritual causes procuring that judgment, II. The natural causes of fire, morally applied, III. The most remarkable passages and circumstances of that dreadful fire, IV. Counsels and comfort unto such as are sufferers by the said judgment / by Samuel Rolle ...

MEDITATION VI. Of Gods contending by Fire, for the sins of Idolatry and Superstition.

I Dolatry is plainly and properly enough de∣fined, to be the worshipping of a false God (one or more) or else of the true God in a false manner. The former is expresly forbid∣den in the first Commandment, which is in these words, Thou shalt have no other Gods before me; but the latter in the second, which saith, Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Image, &c. that is, Thou shalt not worship, or pretend to worship me in the use of Images, or of any thing else which I my self have not instituted and appointed. Now whereas some may think that the worshipping of graven Images, for Gods, or as if they were Gods themselves, and not the worshipping of the true God, in the use of them, is the sin forbidden in the second Com∣mandment, because it is said, Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them. The contrary is evident enough. For the worshipping of any other besides the true God, is that which the first Commandment doth directly forbid, and

is the sum and substance of it; now we must not make the first and second Commandments one and the same. Therefore the sin forbidden in the second Commandment is the worshipping of God, in or by the use of Images, and other things which he never appointed, as means, me∣thods, and parts of his worship. Now this lat∣ter branch of Idolatry is the same thing with that which is called Superstition; which is as much as supra statutum, or a being devout and religious, or rather seeming to be so, above what is written, or was ever commanded by God. Of the first sort of Idolatry which consists in professedly worshipping any other besides the true God, I shall need to say nothing; because that is the Idolatry of Heathen only, & all Chri∣stians profess to abhor it. But alas, how many calling themselves Christians, are not ashamed to own and defend their worshipping of Images relatively, (as they term it) though not absolute∣ly, mediately, though not ultimately. But if we can prove that this was all that many did, whom God was pleased to charge with Idola∣try, and to punish grievously, even with Fire, for so doing; that will be to the point in hand. See for this Levit. 26.31. I will make your Cities, waste, a••d bring your Sanctuaries to desolation (which was afterwards done by Fire, when themselves were carried into captivity, their City and Temple burnt.) Now in what case doth God threaten so to do, viz. in case they should offer to set up any Images, to bow down to them. v. 1. and should not repent of their so doing after they had been warned by lesser judgments: If so, saith God, I will make your Cities waste: and so

he did by Fire, for that very sin. Now the peo∣ple thus threatned were the Israelites, who had so much knowledge of the true God, that it was impossible for them to think that those stocks and stones which they did bow to, were God himself; but only they made them as repre∣sentations and memorials of God (or little Tem∣ples for God to repair to, if he pleased; or as sures to draw God to them (as one calleth them) and yet for this, they are charged with Idolatry; for those very Images are called their Idols, v. 1. Ye shall make ye no Idols, or graven I∣mages; and by the greatness of that punishment which God inflicted for the same, we may ga∣ther he reckoned it as Idolatrie, for it was that ••in if any. Moreover, that they intended no more by their Images, than only pictures and resemblances of God, is intimated to us by those words, Deut. 4.15. Take heed unto your selves, for ye saw no manner of Similitude, on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb, out of the midst of the Fire. v. 16. Lest you make you an Image, the simi∣litude of any figure. As if he had said, that God did therefore forbear at that time to assume any visible shape, because he would not have any representations made of him, which to doe were Idolatrie; at leastwise, if done in order to religious worship. Were not Aaron and the Is∣raeli••es charged with Idolatrie, for making, and causing to be made, a Golden call, Exod. 32.4. and sacrificing to it? v. 5. &c. (yet that people were far from thinking the Calf they had made, to be the true God that brought them out of Egypt•• No, they had made it for a representation, and a memorial of him: For so they are to be under∣stood,

v. 4. Could any of them so far renounce reason, and common sense (least of all could Aaron do so) as to think that Image brought them out of Egypt, which was no Image till after their comming out of Egypt, which had not been what it was, but that they made a Calf of it? which they knew, of its self was neither able to do good nor evil. No surely, their in∣tent was to set up that only as a memorial of God, and to worship God in and by it. For this Moses was so angry with them, and with the puppet which they had made, that as we read v. 20. He took the Calf, burnt it in the fire, ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made them drink of it. The Apostle calls them Idolaters, 1 Cor. 10.6. Neither be ye Idolaters, as were some of them; which is quoted out of Exod. 32.6. If there were no Idolatry in the Golden-calf so intended, why was Moses so angry with it? yea, why was God so angry with them, as by Moses to give charge to the sons of Levi, to slay every man his brother, and his companion, and his neighbour? v. 27. and all for their sin in re∣ference to that Golden-calf? and in v. 10. said God to Moses, Let me alone that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them. By which we may plainly see, that the Idola∣trie I have been speaking of, which is against the second Commandment kindleth fires, as well as that which is against the first Command∣ment Therefore a Caveat is entred against Gra∣ven images, Deut. 4.23. upon the account of Gods being a consuming fire, and a jealous God; a fire that can burn, and full of jealou∣sie (which is the rage of God as well as of

man) so that he will not spare in the day of his anger.

Now if any should think it harsh to call that which is intended as the worship of the true God, by the name of worshipping Idols, when Idols are made use of only as memorials of God, and helps to worship; let them consider, that if such worship any thing really and truly, it is the Idol that is before them: for it must be ei∣ther that, or God; it is not God they worship, for he accepts it no more than if they had cut off a dogs neck, or offered swines blood, Isa. 66.3. See Acts 7.43. O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts, and sacrifices by the space of forty years? yea, ye took up the Tabernacle of Moleck. He denies they offered to him, because they corrupted his worship, and so in effect he was not worshipped at all. Amot 5.25. and Isa. 1.11. Sring no more vain Oblations. Therefore such persons doing that which God accounts now or∣ship to himself, are said to worship the Idol they pretend to worship by; and so to bless an Idol. Isa. 66.3. and in 1 Cor. 10.20. The things which the Gentiles sacrificed, they sacrificed to devils, not to God; not that they intended their Sacri∣fices for the service of devils; least of all, when they offered their sons and daughters. Psal. 106.37. Yet because it was a sacrifice acceptable to the devil, and abominable to God, it is said, that they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils. That is, to the Idols of Canaan, which they took for their Gods, and not for devils, v. 38. But moreover,

God punished worshipping by Idols, as if it were worshipping of Idols: because the former

leads to the latter; and will introduce it in time, and presently too, amongst a great many. Many that are taught to worship before Images, can∣not distinguish of doing it Relatively not Abso∣lutely, mediately, and not ultimately; and so they do it absolutely and not relatively, ul∣timately and not mediately. Idols are brought in by the help of distinctions, but when once brought in, the distinctions are forgotten, and the Idols only are remembred, and the more ignorant sort of people will turn per∣fect heathens, that is, worshippers of stocks and stones. The jealous God fore-seeing this, for∣bids all use of Images in and about his wor∣ship, seeing that kind of dalliance and kissing the calves, will end at last in going a whoring from him, by such Idolatrie as was amongst the blindest Heathens. Now God would prevent the in-lets of evil, and therefore he would not permit the Nazarites so much as to eat the stones of Grapes, lest it should bring them by degrees to drink Wine, which they had vowed against; so neither will he suffer men to worship by, or in the use of Images, lest they come at last to worship Images themselves. And to the end the worship of God might be kept pure, care is taken in the second Commandment, that men should present God with nothing as either medium, or pars cultus, but what himself hath prescribed; for by the same reason that wor∣shipping by Graven-images is forbidden, are we prohibited the use of every other thing, as any means or part of divine worship which G••d hath not instituted. Hence those words, Mark 7.7. In vain do you worship me, teaching

for doctrine the traditions of men. For the Pharisees, to place Religion in washing before they eat (whereas it was no more but cleanliness) Mark 7.3. was very displeasing to our Saviour Christ, Paul was very angry with those that pretended to a voluntarie humilitie, in worshipping An∣gels, Col. 2.18. that is, they gave out that men ought to go to God by the mediation of Angels, as being the more reverent way of addressing to God: but Paul saith, they were vainly puft up with their fleshly mind, for that they intruded into those things, which they had not seen any warrant for in Gods Word. And as for those Galathians that did observe daies, and moneths, and times, and years, the Apostle saith plainly, he was afraid he had bestowed upon them labour in vain; namely, because they thought to please, and to worship God, in and by those things which were never of his own appointment. I wish then that whosoever shall read this Chap∣ter, may become convinced, if not so before, how greatly the sins of Idolattie and superstition do provoke God, and kindle the fire of his wrath. Saul gave Samuel a superstitious reason, why the people took of the Sheep and Oxen, the chief of the things which should have been ut∣terly destroied; namely, that it was to sacrifice to the Lord in Gilgal. Yet this their devotion, besides, and contrarie to Gods command, is called Rebellion, and said to be as the sin of witch∣craft: and as for Idolatrie, if Idolaters do in Gods account sacrifice to devils: how just is it for Idolatrie to be reckoned as the sin of witch∣craft. 1 Sam. 15.23. Witches are burnt by the Laws of our Land. Now if that which God

calls Witchcraft, should grow common amongst us, viz. Idolatrie, so called also in 2 Kings 9.22. which God forbid, and the wisdome of our Governours will (I hope seek to prevent) we may expect more burning yet behind, and such a fire of judgment to ensue, as will consume us to utter and endless destruction. Now Lord, if those men whose Religion teacheth them to insist upon their merits, and if others have meri∣ted also, to flie to their works of supererogation, (as their manner is to idolize themselves, and their own works) if such shall attempt to break in upon us like a flood, grant that thy Spirit pou∣red out upon our Rulers, may lift up its self as a standard against them.