THE CHAMBEU OF IMAGERY. 553
they found sensible effects, unto theif great satisfaction; for their minds being dark, carnal, and prone to superstition, — as are the minds of all men by nature, — they could see nothing in the spiritual rejire- sentation of him in the gospel that had any power on them, or did in any measure affect them. In these images, by the means of sight and imagination, they found that which did really work upon their af- fections, and, as they thought, did excite them unto the love of Christ. And this was the true original of all the imagery in the Church of Erome, as something of the same nature, in general, was of all the image-worship in the world. So the Israelites in the wilderness, when they made the golden calf, did it to have a representation of a deity near unto them, in such a visible manner as that their souls might be affected with it: so they expressed themselves, Exod. xxxii. 1. Wherefore in this state, under a loss of spiritual light and experience, men of superstitious minds found themselves entangled. They knew it necessary that there should be such a representation made of Christ as might render him a present object of faith and love, wherewitli they might be immediately affected. How this was done in the gos- pel they could not understand, nor obtain any experience of the power and efficacy of it unto this end. Yet the principle itself must be re- tained, as that without which there could be no religion; wherefore, to extricate themselves out of this difficulty, they brake through all God's commands to the contrary, and betook themselves to the making- images of Christ, and their adoration. And from small beginnings, according as darkness and superstition increased in the minds of men, there was a progress in this practice, until these images took the whole work of representing Christ and his glory out of the hands, as it were, of the gospel, and appropriated it unto themselves. For I do not speak of them, now, so much as they are images of Clnrist, or objects of adoration, as of their being dead images of the gosj^el ; that is, somewhat set up in the room of the gospel, and for the ends of it, as means of teaching and instruction. They shall do the work which the gospel was designed of God to do ; for as unto this end, of the representation of Christ as the present object of the faith and love of man, with an efi&cacy to work upon their affections, there is in the Church of Rome a thousand times more ascribed unto them than unto the gospel itself The whole matter is stated by the apostle, Rom. X. 6-8, " The righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart. Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, Avhich we preach." The inquiry is, how we may be made partakers of Christ, and righteousness by him : or.
554 THE CHAMBER OF IMAGERY.
how we may have au interest in him, or have him present with us. This, saith the apostle, is clone by the wo7\l of the gospel which is preached, which is nigh unto us,— in our mouths, and in our hearts. "No," say these men, "we cannot understand how it should be so; we do not find that it is so, — that Christ is made nigh unto us, pre- sent with us, by this word. Wherefore we will ascend into heaven to bring down Christ from above; for we will make images of him in his glorious state in heaven, and thereby he will be present -with us, or nigh unto us. And we will descend into the deep, to bring uj) Christ again from the dead; and we will do it, by making first cru- cifixes, and then images of his glorious resurrection, bringing him again unto as from the dead. This shall be in the place and room of that word of the gospel, which you pretend to be alone useful and effectual unto these ends."
This, therefore, is evident, that the introduction of this abomina- tion, in principle and practice destructive unto the souls of men, took its rise from the loss of an experience of the representation of Christ in the gospel, and the transforming power in the minds of men which it is accompanied with, in them that believe. " Make us gods," say the Israelites, " to go before us ; for as for this man Moses," who represented God unto us, " we know not what is become of him." What would you have men do? Would you have them five without all sense of the presence of Christ with them, or being nigh unto them? Shall they have no representation of him? No, no; make us gods that may go before us, — let us have images unto this end ; for how else may it be done we cannot understand. And this is the reason of their obstinacy in this practice against all means of conviction ; yea, they live hereon in a perpetual contradiction unto themselves. Their temples are full of graven images, like the house of Micah, — "houses of gods;" and yet in them are the Scriptures (though in a tongue unknown to the people), wherein that practice is utterly condemned; [so] that a man would think them distracted, to hear what their book says, and to see what they do in the same place. But nothing will reach unto their conviction, until the vail of blindness and ignorance be taken from theii- minds. Until they have spiritual light enabling tliem to discern the gloiy of Christ as represented in the gospel, and to let in an experience of the transforming power and efficacy of that revelation in their own souls, they will never part with that means for the same end, which they are sensible of to be useful unto it, and which is suited unto their inclination. What- ever be the issT;e, though it cost them their souls, they will not part with what they find, as they suppose, so useful unto their gi'eat end of making Christ nigh unto them, for that wherein they can see no- tliing of it, and of whose power they can have no experience.