self downward to the earth, or to creatures made of earthe, which be rather to be troden vnder his fete, then to be worshipped of him. There is nothynge more agaynst reason, then that he whiche hathe lyfe, sence, and reason, should worshyppe that thynge, which can neither see, feele, moue, heare nor vnderstande. Wherefore God sayeth plainly, thou shalt not worshyppe ymages, that is to saye, thou shalt not gylte them, and set them in costlye tabernacles, and decke theim with coates or shertes, thou shalt not sense them, make vowes or pilgremages to them, sette candelles before them, and offer vnto them, thou shalte not kysse their feete, and bowe downe vnto them.

For God sayeth I am a ielouse God, and wyl not giue my honour to any creature, but wyl greuouslye punyshe them that breake this my commaundement. Yea I wyll punyshe their children and posteritie vnto the thirde and fourthe generation.

And thys indignation of God agaynst ydolaters, hath at sundrye tymes be shewed by greuouse punishementes for our examples.

For Salomons idolatrie, the kingdomes of Israell and Juda were deuyded, and thereof dyd ensue a continuall dyscorde betwene these two kyngdomes. And for ydolatrye God commaunded Moses to hange the capitaines of the people, and of the people were slayne xxiiii. thousande. And the bokes of the Judges, Kynges, and the Prophetes be ful of like histories, howe almyghtye God for ydolatrie was offended with the Israelites, and gaue theym into the handes of their enemies, and into the subiection and bondage of all nations about them, which did persecute and kyl them. And when they in theyr afflictions cried vnto the Lorde, he refused them saying. Go and crie to the gods whiche you haue chosen, they wyll saue you in the time of youre necessitie.

What greater punyshemente can there be then this?

to be cast away from God, when we haue mooste neede of his helpe and comforte? And in Deuteronomie almyghtye God commaunded by his prophet Moses, saying. Cursed be he, that shall make a grauen or molten ymage, abhominable before the Lorde, the worke of an artificers hande, and shall set it in a secrete place. And all the people shall answere and say Amen.

Here you see how he is accursed of God, that setteth but one ymage in a secret corner of his own house to wourshippe it. But much more daunger it is, to set vp ymages in the temple of God which is the open and commen place to honor the only lyuing God. But peraduenture some will say, that we are forbydden to worshyp ymages, but not to haue ymages. To this I answer. First as touchyng the ymage of God, that whan God spake vnto the children of Israell in the mount of Oreb, they heard a voice, but they sawe no maner of ymage or lykenes of any creature. And the cause was this. Lest if he had appeared in the similitude of a man or woman or of any beast vpon earthe, or of any birde in the ayer, or fishe in the water, or of any other creature, the ignoraunt people woulde paraduenture haue made an ymage like therto, and haue worshipped it.

Therfore they did se no maner of ymage, because they should make no ymage of God. Least that yf they had made any ymage of God, they would also haue worshipped it. And forasmuche as God is a goste not onely inuisible but also incomprehensible, therfore he can neither be made with handes, nor compassed by wit, nether is it possible, that any thyng made by mannes hande shulde represent God vnto vs, as his ymage, so far those two be vnlyke, God, and an ymage made by man. For God is a goste, without ende, without measure, withoute mixture, without corruption and most perfecte. But an ymage is a body, hathe an ende, maye be compassed and measured, it is myxed, corruptible and vnparfit. God is lyfe in him

selfe, of whom al thinges haue lyfe, but ymages can nether heare, see, nor moue, nor haue neither reason, vnderstanding nor lyfe. Therefore sayeth God hym selfe by his prophet Esaie, that no similitude nor ymage, can be made of him. God shewed himselfe vnto the people in the mount of Oreb, but in a clowde, smoke and fyer, declaring therby that no man can come to the parfite knowledge of God, as he is in hym selfe. The Propiciatorie also, whereby God was signified, was hidde and not sene, as wel for that it stode in sancta sanctorum where the people neuer came, as also forbecause the cherubynes couered it with their wynges. But in case any paynter or caruer were so connyng, that he cold make an ymage, which shuld parfytly represent vnto vs God, (which is impossible) yet he ought to make no suche ymage. And if it wer made, it ought to be destroied, because God hathe forbyd anye ymage to be made of hym.

For as it is forbydde to haue any straunge goddes, so it is also forbide to haue any ymage of the true lyuing God. And yf any will say, that it is forbyde to make an ymage of God, to thintent to wourshippe it, but I doo not worshippe it, nor haue it for that intent, but only that it may stere me to the remembraunce and knowlege of God. To this I aunswer, that God did forbide the making of his ymage, least this parrell shoulde followe, that thou shouldest worshippe it.

Therefore thou doste offende, although thou doste not worshippe it, and that not only, because thou doest againste Goddes worde and commaundement, but also because thou putteste thy selfe wilfully in very great peril and daunger, specially seyng that of our corrupte nature wee be moost highly enclyned to idolatry and superstition, as experyence from tyme to tyme hathe taught vs, euen from the begynnyng of the worlde. And here appeareth the abuse of our tyme, which folowing rather the phantasye of caruers or paynters, than the worde of God haue

set vp in churches the ymage (as thei cal it) of the Trinitie, where they portured God the father lyke an olde man with a long hore berd. And what can symple people learne herby, but errore, and ignorance? Haue not mani thought that God the father is a bodyly substaunce, and that he hath a face, and berd, handes, and fete, because they see him so painted? And for this consideracion saith sainte Austen, it is a detestable thing for Christen men to haue any suche ymage of God in the church, whereby it appeareth that in sainct Austens tymes, ther wer no suche ymages in Christen churches, but that it is an inuention of the papistes broughte in of later yeres, whiche bryngeth vs not vnto the true knowledge of God, but leadeth vs into errors and ignoraunce of God.

But if you wil lyfte vp your mindes to God good children, to know his diuine maiestye, hys infinite power, wysedome, goodnes, and other his godlye perfections, loke not vpon a deafe, domme, blynde, lame, and deade ymage, made by a painter or caruers handes, but loke vpon heauen and other creatures, made by Goddes awne handy worke, loke vpon man who can speake, see, smell, heare, feale, and go, and hath lyfe, wyl, and reason, and whome no man, but God himselfe made to be his lyuely image and similitude.

We haue also the holy scriptures whiche declare vnto vs the wonderful workes of God, by which thynges wee maye be ledde to the knowledge of God without painted or carued ymages. Now paraduenture some wil say that Christ hathe a bodye, and lykewyse haue saintes, and therfore of them we may haue ymages althoughe of God there can be made no ymage. And further they wil say, that the cause why ymages wer forbid, was perryl of ydolatry, and worshipping of theym. So that where there is no suche peril, we may haue ymages.

Yet as I will not vtterly deny but they may be had, so I thincke it more conuenient for christen religion that

maye

they shuld be taken out of Christen mens churches, then that they shoulde be placed in the temple of God. And of this my opinion I wil shewe you certaine good groundes, to thintente that whan you be demaunded, why we Englyshe men haue no ymages in our churches, you be able to make therunto a reasonable aunswer, and that also in time to come you may declare to your children what abuses haue crepte into the church by the occasion of ymages. That if anye man shall hereafter goo about craftily to brynge in ymages agayne for hys owne lucre sake, they maye the soner perceyue hys juglynge, and so the better auoide the perill and daunger. Fyrst it is certaine, that we neither haue commaundement, counsell nor example of the scripture, nor of the primatiue churche in thapostilles time, nor many yeres after to set vp ymages in our churches. As it maye appeare by the holy man Epiphanius bishop of Cypres, a man of great estimation an. xi. hundreth yeres passed, for his great lernyng and vertue, and by whom not only in his lyfe tyme, but also after his death, God wrought many miracles. He in an epistle which he wrote to the bysshoppe of Hierusalem (whiche epistle saint Hierome did translate out of Greke into Latine) writeth, that as he passed the contrey about Hierusalem, he founde in a church a cloth painted, hauing the image of Christ, or of a saynte. And whan I saw (saied he) an ymage of a man hang in the church of Christe, contrarie to the authoritie of the scripture, I cut it in peces, and counseled them to buri some pore dead man therin. And after he wrote to the bysshop of Hierusalem, that he shuld commaunde al the priestes, not to suffer suche images, beynge contrary to our religion, to hange in the church of Christ. Wherby it appeareth that in those dayes ymages were not alowed to be sette vp in churches amonge Christen menne (yea al though it were the ymage of Christe or any sayncte) but that the vsage of ymages beganne after that tyme.