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And to this you may add, That this Prohi- Not Limited to bition was not only upon fome Politick Con- the Canaanites. fideration, with reference to the feven cursed Nations whom the Jews were commanded to Deftroy, and therefor not to Mix with them; for the Cafe in Ezra was of their Marrying with the Babylonians, and other Idolatrous Nations during the LXX Years Captivity.

For it was the Tranfgreffion of thofe that had been carried away. And the Ammonites, Moabites and Egyptians are reckon'd (Ezra ix. 1.) among thofe whom the Jews had Marry'd, and from whom they were to be Divorc'd, Deut. vii. 1. as being contrary to the Law of God: And thefe were none of the VII curfed Nations, whom the Jews were commanded to Deftroy, and not xx. 17. to make Marriages with them.

Bellarmin fays this must be only meant of De Matrimən. thofe Egyptians, &c. who dwelt in the Land 1. 1. c. 23. of Canaan; but he gives no Reafon for it; that wou'd have been troublesome, especially after having proved in the fame Chapter, that the Prohibition of Marrying with Idolaters was a moral Command, & ad omnes pertinet, and be longs to all of Us, and not only to the Jews; because as he there proves, the Caufe was moral; yet he faid as much as the Caufe cou'd bear: That is, that that was moral in the Land of Canaan, which was not a Mile farther (as if God were offended with the Ground and not with the Sin) that this Prohibition oblig'd Al and not only the Jews; and yet it oblig'd no Body, no not the Jews themselves out of Judea, no, nor in Judea, fo the Idolaters they Marry'd, were only. Travel lers, or Sojourners, and not Dwellers in the Land.

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What was the

Heathen.

I.

As to the

Ther is none can Deny but ther is as much Reafon (at least) for Chriftians to avoid Idolatry, as the Jews.

But because ther may be feveral Sorts and Species of Idolatry, it will be Ufeful for Us to fee what that particular Sort of Idolatry was, into which the Jews so often Fell, and which was fo feverely Prohibited and Threatned by God; that we may beware of the Like.

And because the Jews took their Idolatry from the Heathen, and were Corrupted by them, let us fee what theirs was.

It was, firft, in fuppofing a great Number Idolatry of the of Beings, both Good and Bad, whom they call'd Demons (the fame that we mean by Object. of their Angels. Angelos quos dicitis, ipfos & nos coWorship. limus, St. Auguft. in Pfal. xcvi.) who were conftituted as Inferior Gods, under the One Supreme Being, and each had his feveral Province affign'd to him, as the Winds to Æolus, the Sea to Neptune, &c. Thefe they Wor hiped only as a Sort of Leffer Gods, who ftood in the middle betwixt the Supreme God and Us, and Govern'd Us by His Permiffion and Command, and were All of them Accountable unto Him Therefor they called them Dii Medioxumi, that is, Midling or Inferior Gods.

And of these they had Tutelar Gods for particular Countries, Cities, and Families.

And when their Heroes were Dead, they Ranged them among thefe Sort of Gods, and Worshiped them.

But they Worshiped All these, in Subordination to the One Supreme God, and with De Civit. Dei. Relation to Him. As St. Auguftin does exprefly tell us, Hi omnes Dii Deaque fit unus Jupiter. The Worship of all these Gods and

4. C. 9.

Goddesses

Goddeffes was Referr'd to the one Jupiter, whom they made Supreme over All.

This was the Polytheifm of the Gentiles, in that they Served and Worshiped feveral Gods; tho' they own'd these no otherwise than as the Minifters of the Kingdom, or Univerfal Sove reignty of the One Supreme Being.

This was the Idolatry forbidden in the first Command.

The other Branch of their Idolatry, which 2. As to the is the Subject of the Second Command, did Manner of their Refpect the Manner of their Worship, which Worthip. was by making Images or Pictures of their Gods, and calling them by the Names of the Gods they Reprefented; and having Dedicated or Confecrated them to this Ufe, they believ'd them Sacred; and that fuch Images did fecure to them the Prefence of the Deity, who Inhabited and Exhibited his Influence and Virtues by means of his Image. And their Temples were full of Ships, Crutches, &c. Dedicated by their Votaries, in Memory of Mercies and Deliverances they suppos'd they had receiv'd by Praying before thefe Images. And the Worship they paid to these Images, was Relative to that God whom they Worshiped by the Image.

They did not think the Image to be the God it Reprefented: That was Impoffible; for nothing can be the Image or Picture of it felf. And they had feveral Images of different Shapes and Figures for the fame God.

And tho they called each Image by the Name of the God, as being Confecrated to Bear his Name; yet they did not think, that ther was more than One God of a Sort, as more than one Apollo, Venus, &c. tho' they had many Images of them,

Another

What was the

Heathen.

1. As to the

Ther is none can Deny but ther is as much Reafon (at least) for Chriftians to avoid Idolatry, as the Jews.

But because ther may be feveral Sorts and Species of Idolatry, it will be Useful for Us to fee what that particular Sort of Idolatry was, into which the Jews fo often Fell, and which was fo feverely Prohibited and Threatned by God; that we may beware of the Like.

And because the Jews took their Idolatry from the Heathen, and were Corrupted by them, let us fee what theirs was.

It was, firft, in fuppofing a great Number Idolatry of the of Beings, both Good and Bad, whom they call'd Demons (the fame that we mean by Object. of their Angels. Angelos quos dicitis, ipfos & nos coWorship. limus, St. Auguft. in Pfal. xcvi.) who were conftituted as Inferior Gods, under the One Supreme Being, and each had his feveral Province affign'd to him, as the Winds to Æolus, the Sea to Neptune, &c. These they Wor hiped only as a Sort of Leffer Gods, who stood in the middle betwixt the Supreme God and Us, and Govern'd Us by His Permiffion and Command, and were All of them Accountable unto Him: Therefor they called them Dii Medioxumi, that is, Midling or Inferior Gods.

And of these they had Tutelar Gods for par-
ticular Countries, Cities, and Families.

And when their Heroes were Dead, they
Ranged them among thefe Sort of Gods, and
Worshiped them.

But they Worshiped All these, in Subordination to the One Supreme God, and with De Civit. Dei. Relation to Him. As St. Auguftin does exprefly tell us, Hi omnes Dii Deaque fit unus Jupiter. The Worship of all thefe Gods and

4. C. 9.

Goddefjes

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Goddeffes was Referr'd to the one Jupiter, whom they made Supreme over All.

This was the Polytheism of the Gentiles, in that they Served and Worshiped feveral Gods; tho' they own'd these no otherwise than as the Minifters of the Kingdom, or Univerfal Sove reignty of the One Supreme Being.

This was the Idolatry forbidden in the first Command.

The other Branch of their Idolatry, which 2. As to the is the Subject of the Second Command, did Manner of their Refpect the Manner of their Worship, which Worthip. was by making Images or Pictures of their Gods, and calling them by the Names of the Gods they Represented, and having Dedicated or Confecrated them to this Ufe, they believ'd them Sacred; and that fuch Images did fecure to them the Prefence of the Deity, who Inhabited and Exhibited his Influence and Virtues by means of his Image. And their Temples were full of Ships, Crutches, &c. Dedicated by their Votaries, in Memory of Mercies and Deliverances they fuppos'd they had receiv'd by Praying before thefe Images. And the Worship they paid to thefe Images, was Relative to that God whom they Worshiped by the Image.

They did not think the Image to be the God it Reprefented: That was Impoffible; for nothing can be the Image or Picture of it felf. And they had feveral Images of different Shapes and Figures for the fame God.

And tho they called each Image by the Name of the God, as being Confecrated to Bear his Name; yet they did not think, that ther was more than One God of a Sort, as more than one Apollo, Venus, &c. tho' they had many Images of them,

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