Selected quad for the lemma: water_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
water_n	earth_n	heaven_n	place_n	3,957	5	4.7600	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33124	An account of Dr. Still.'s late book against the Church of Rome together with a short postil upon his text.	J. V. C. (John Vincent Canes), d. 1672.	1672 (1672)	Wing C426; ESTC R18260	35,205	79

For they specifie onely either the motive or event which may make the act either good or evil either grateful or displeasing but not make it an act or no act or not to tend where it has tended And so must my act of worshipping God by images terminate upon God or else it is no act of worshipping God by them however God may have either commanded or forbid it God has forbidden blasphemy and yet the act terminates upon him otherwise it could not be a sin against him And if Gods worship by images do not terminate on God whither on Gods name does it tend and how is God worshiped by them This he does not tell us here unless he insinuate it is those following words of his but gives the honour due to God unto the Creature But how can that be If God should have forbid us by his law to see a star through a tube should we not therefore see it but the tube only or should not our sight then be terminated upon the Sar. So it seems by this Doctors philosophy who hath conversed with the learneder sort of Papists and the wiser sort of heathens but very little with himself Holy fathers and Doctors have often said that the honour of an Image redounds to the Prototype but never thought or said that the honour of the Prototype redounds to the image as it is here affirmed against both art and experience But let us hear him proceed in his discourse He will surely let fall some sence or truth ere long § 7. Gods infinite and incomprehensible Deity saith he cannot be represented O here it is This is very true What a comfortable thing it is to meet with a draught of truth sometimes when a man is dry and thirsts after it But to what purpose is this spoken here Catholicks have no representations of that invisible Deity nor none they look after Figures they have of our Lord Christ born as man amongst us and made flesh and crucified and ascending into Heaven Figures also of his holy followers and Martyrs but representations of the invisible Deity they never yet saw nor heard nor thought of On then The wisest of heathens judged any such representations of the Divine nature incongruous and unbecoming his glory Indeed they were wise heathens and their judgment very right and good Nor did I ever hear of any Christian wise or unwise any otherwise minded O how would this Doctor prevail if this wise Discourse of his were as pertinent as it is true But he trusts and hopes well that his good fate will so accompany his reader that he shall not doubt at all that every word that is true in his book is also to some purpose And to some purpose indeed it is namely to have it thought that he is victorious in his maine design although indeed and truth it belong nothing at all to it But let me not stop his carreere If any such figure of the Deity were inconsistent in the old Law much more in the new where we are commanded to worship God in spirit and truth O uncontrouleable consequence arising from remisses most true No man can or dare deny a●l this Me thinks I love him here for his reason and cannot but grieve it should be all spilt in vain so pure it is and pretious A little more of this while he is in a good mood It seems more rational to worship God in the Sun and Moon which have more of God in them then a picture has and to say our prayers to the Sun and Moon then to any Image Seems so Sir It is certainly more rational what should we doubt of And what a pitty is it there should be none to be found who worship God in a picture either ideally or presentially none who say their prayers to a picture that this great blow of his might not beat the aire to the indangering of his elbows Saint Paul testifies that the Godhead is not like either to gold or silver or stone Good St. Paul alwaies said well and his testimony is good at all times and especially now when it hits so pat with the wiser heathens There be many Churches now in England which have since our reformation the Tetragram name of God written upon the walls within side in golden letters Unto those men who did this it would not seem altogether impertinent to tell them that the Godhead is not like to gold silver or stone But to such as use only the effigies of our Lord according to his humanity and his holy Apostles and Martyrs what a pitty it is it should be impertinent and wholly lost Let him speak on some more of his truths Germanus Patriark of Constantinople saies expresly that Christians make no representation of the invisible Deity and St. Damascene affirms it madness to go about it Marry God have mercy o' their souls for this their express saying Catholicks would desire no better a testimony for themselves if they wanted any then this of those two great Catholick Doctors that no such representation they have and none they go about to have O but he hopes that all this being true will make strongly against the Church of Rome And will it so I have heard say there be a thousand Churches in Rome which are all Churches of Rome equally Which of them all are concerned in this talk that their walls may confute him But he means Catholick people perhaps oh O then all is well they are safe enough and unhurt by all this which is but their own doctrine and faith At least he has by these fair shreds of truth farced up a dozen pages in his book And he hopes that his protestant reader will believe it all to be most pertinent and apposite discourse against papishes though it be nothing less And if they do so think he has his end a happy man no doubt § 8. Moses forbad saith he the making of any graven thing and the word which Moses uses in that his law for a graven thing is general and signifies not an idol only as papists say but any picture likeness image or representation as Moses himself speaks either in heaven above or in earth below or waters under the earth pesel themurah eikon glypton sculptile any kind of thing that may be exprest either with the pencil or graving tool Believe me Sir if this be true it will undo all our Painters who come flocking hither into England as the only thriving place for them out of Holland Germany France and Italy too and here fill the Land with pesels themunahs eikons glyptons sculptile's and any things they can express with their pencils for our delight Dolphins whales and other fish of the sea birds of the Aire beasts flowers woods gallant men and fair women all that ever Moses forbad to be exprest Nay I have seen my self in a protestant Church Moses himself painted on the walls with glittering hornes on his head and a pair of law

reputation I cannot but remember here the shadow or Ghost in Virgil which Juno made of Aeneas to draw her beloved Turnus out of the field It seemed to fight and threaten and press on and give back But nothing at all was done really Tum dea nube cavâ tenuem sine viribus umbram In faciem Aeneae visu mirabile monstrum Dardaniis ornat telis clypeumque jubasque Divini assimilat capitis dat inania verba Dat sine mente sonum gressusque effingit euntis Morte obitâ quales fama est volitare figuras Aut quae sopitos deludunt somnia sensûs Ac primas laeta ante acies exultat imago Irritatque virum telis ac voce lacessit And such a shadow of controversie is all this present Chapter and his whole book also a foming face and feeble force big but empty words rumbling and yet insignificant sounds quick profers and no progress a daring shadow or armed Ghost without either body or bones And yet such a thing as defies the whole Catholick Church steps out from the rest of his Camp and defies them all alone defies them both in letters syllables and words And this is all For he touches no body Because Catholicks by the advice and allowance of their Prelates do keep amongst them the representation of the divine Founder of their Religion who appeared amongst us by his unspeakable Love in form of a Man and of some of his holy followers in the way he chalked out for us therefore he talks of Moloch and Milcom Osiris and Isis Chemosh and Astaroth Baal Peor and Rimmon golden Bulls and Remphan the calves of Dan and Bethel And what is all this for Wy to over-run Papists and beat us down How can it do that These idols were set up by heathens in opposition to the true God and in the very place of God as darkness in the night time is in the place of light This is true what then and therefore I must not forsooth keep the figure of Jesus Christ or of St. Paul or other domestick of my own religion for my own incouragement therein What likeness what consequence is there in all this Which is Remphan and where is Moloch Which is the Calf and where is the Bull Nay and here it is worth our observing too that Protestant Gentlemen and Ladies of England Ministers and Bishops too have all pictures in their Chambers as well as Catholicks even those of our holy Apostles and Martyrs as well as others And there they are good and lawful figures but in our Chambers they are Bulls of Basan and Calves of Bethel among us Catholick pictures are against Moses his Law but theirs are not so Although they be representations both in Heaven above and Earth below and Waters under earth expressy by the same Law forbidden for example Moon and Stars Dogs and Cats Whales and Dolphins The picture of Martin Luther in their Chamber is the lawful effigies of a man But Saint Stephen in our Closet is a Calf Can any man who talks at this rate be thought to be one that has conversed either with the learned sort of Papists or the wiser sort of Heathens or one rather that had never any conversation at all either with reason or men O but Catholicks worship God by their images which Protestants do not I marry this is a huge fault indeed that Catholicks take thereby occasion to think of God and his manifold mercies and bless his name and trust in him For they no other way worship God by Images This is the mortal sin which Catholicks commit And if that illogical speech of the Doctor Catholicks worship God by Images be drawn into any kind of sence it can be no other than th●s that Catholicks take occasion by the pious faces of their Martyrs to think of Gods manifold graces and mercies towards them and thereupon trust in him afresh and bless his name which great errour the Doctor it seems does carefully avoid The ancient dev●ut Christians thought of God and worshipped him by any thing any good thing they enjoyed the verdant fields and sweet flowers comfortable air and pleasing light mountains valleys and liquid streams Plumbs Pears Apples and chearful Grapes by the vertue charity and devotion of men the ministry of Angels c. But now we must take heed of that We may taste a Plumb or a Cherry we may eat a venison Pasty and drink good wine if we can get it nay we may have fine pictures in our Chambers even the picture of Jesus Christ crucified or any of his followers we may have all this if we be such good Protestants as Mr. Stillingfleet and never think of God or worship God by it But if we worship God by it if we think of God by it then it is all poison to us All is suddenly turned to Moloch to Remphan to Baal Peor to Ashtaroth to Aarons golden Steer and the Calves of Bethel If we do but eat a custard thinking of God or worshipping God by it presently it becomes a Remphan or Chiun the idol of the Arabians Walking upon Hamstead-hill as people use innocently enough to do if casting our eyes about the prospect we think of G●d by it as Catholicks are wont the hill before innocent is now become a Baal Peor the idol of the Moabites A Citizen walking to the Tower may look harmlesly enough upon the Crown and royal Robes there But he must take heed then that he fall not into a meditation of Heaven or the glory of its great King to worship him in his heart by it For then it becomes to him an Adramelech the idol of Sepharvaim And he must beware of the like abuse when he sees the Chamber and Table where his Majesty sits in Council with his Peers lest it become a Moloch to him the idol of the Moabites The very Flags and Banners often seen in London-streets make some simple soul to think of Jerusalem above the peace and happy company there and the God of all but then O how suddenly is the Streamer metamorphosed and turned into Nesroch the idol of Senacherib Some are so bold when they either see or hear of any corrupted by the French-pox and lechery to thank God who has preserved them and worship God by it And thereby sin no less grievously than Maacham the Mo●her of Asa King of Judah in worshipping her idol Priap or Nimphleseth A gentleman called upon God not in words onely but very heartily when a troublesome Fly got into his Eye and much afflicted him but he little thought that by that piety of his he had sinned as deeply as they that worship Baalzebu● the idol of Acaron Nothing is more ordinary with Country Gentlemen when walking abroad they behold a goodly fair flock of sheep in pasture of their own than to thank God and worship God by it but little do they think good men they are guilty of Idolatry thereby as much guilty as they that worshipped