The Thirty-fifth Lord’s Day

35 The Thirty-fifth Lord’s Day
Exodus 20:4-6
You shall not make for yourself any graven image, or the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor worship them, nor serve them; for I the LORD am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me. And showing mercy to thousands of those that love my, and keep me commandments.
We have here the second Command, and the sanctification of it. It concerns the means of worshipping God. It is expressed by Negation and Distribution of means, and Description of the use that is usually to be exercised about such means. The Distribution is taken from the places of the means: Heaven, Earth, and Waters. The Description is from the Adjunct of Adoration, or bowing down to them. The Sanction consists in a threatening and promise, the nature and ratifying power of which is expounded from the nature of God, I am Jehovah, your strong God. This command is distinguished from the former in that there the essential and natural worship of God was commanded; but here, it is accidental and of a free institution. And this instituted worship, as to the negative part, is declared Synecdochically by an image; because this worship of God used to be most violated by the abuse of images.
Doctrine 1. God is only to be worshipped in such ways and by such means as he has commanded himself to be worshipped by his word.
This is gathered from this Precept, in that by image is to be condemned all will-worship brought in by men; so that no other worship is approved, except that which God himself has prescribed. This Doctrine also seems to be clear in these words, You shall not make for yourself; that is, you shall bring no worship to God at your own pleasure, and as you like best. For although this phrase sometimes has the sense that you shall not make anything so as to have it for yourself alone, yet both the short and comprehensive manner of speech in the Decalogue, and the matter itself that is addressed here, persuade us that it should be taken in the former sense here. This Doctrine is expressed in Exodus 23:24, and Deuteronomy 12:32.1
Reason 1. Because God alone knows what is acceptable to him, and suitable to his nature and will.
Reason 2 . Because the whole blessing and fruit of our worship that we owe God, depends on him; and it is not for us to prescribe to God by what means he should work on us, or by what means we bless him.
Reason 3. Because worship that is not commanded, does not have the nature of obedience in it. But it is God’s will and it belongs to his honour, that by obeying we worship him, and by worshipping we obey him.
1 Exodus 23:24 "You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars. Deuteronomy 12:32 "Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.
Reason 4 . Because such is the vanity and futility of men’s imaginations in divine things, that if it had been left to us to choose for ourselves the means of divine worship, it would all have been turned into traditions and vain observations, as experience witnesses; by this means the Devil has led men away into empty superstitions almost throughout the world.
Use 1. Of Refutation: against Papists, who have defiled all parts of Divine worship with their Will-worship, traditions of men’s devising, and their own ordinances.
Use 2 . Of Direction: that in worshipping God, we have a precise regard for God’s own holy Ordinances in the ministry of the Word, Sacraments, and Discipline; and on the other part, that we despise all human devices, no matter how fair a colour1 and pretense they may be commended to us.
Doctrine 2. God is not to be worshipped at or before an Image.
For otherwise Images in this passage are not absolutely forbidden, because there is a civil, lawful use of some Images; but only the use of Images in God’s worship is forbidden. Nor are only Images of
 counterfeit gods forbidden in God’s worship, as Papists would have it; but also images of the true God, Deuteronomy 4:12. 2 There Moses contrasts the voice of the true God (which the people had heard on the Mount) to all Images of the same God, and not to images of other counterfeit gods. This was expressly said to have been signified by the sin of the Israelites concerning the image they made, Exodus 32:6 — that they would make a Calf for an Image or representation of Jehovah.3 The distinction therefore between an Image and an Idol, in which and by which Image God is served, has no ground either in writing, or right reason, or in common use of words. The grievousness of this sin everywhere appears, that in Scripture is commonly called Idolatry. For those who worship the true God at or before an Image, do not altogether and professedly forsake the true God; and therefore they do not commit that principal and essential Idolatry; yet they are guilty of secondary Idolatry, and of that which is idolatry indirectly, and by participation.4
Reason 1. Because in some way, they make for themselves another God besides the true God; namely, such a god as will be represented by an Image, and worshipped there by us.
Reason 2 . Because they not only diminish that glory which they ought to give to God, but they also refer, either expressly or impliedly, a part of the glory which is due to God alone, to the image.
Reason 3 . Because they also honour in some way with Divine honour, the Authors of Images, while they grant them the power or authority to institute divine worship, which belongs to God alone. And by that means also, they are said to worship the Devil himself, because he is the principal author of Image worship. This is why Scripture used to call this grievous sin by some special phrases — as when in the sanction of this commandment, it is called hating God, and in other places it is called treachery or perfidiousness, adultery and violation of the wedlockcovenant. This is also why so heavy a
1 An outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately misleading. 
2 Deuteronomy 4:12 "And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice.
3 Exodus 32:4-6 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD [Jehovah]." Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
4 In other words, although strictly speaking worshipping an image of Jehovah is not idolatry, it still violates the second commandment. Making a distinction between an image and an idol is a false dichotomy; both are forbidden. 
punishment is denounced against this sin, as it is in the threatening laid down in this commandment, whereby it is said that God will visit this iniquity on the Sons, Nephews, and their Children again to the third and fourth generations.
Use 1 . Of Refutation: against the Idolatry of Papists who, as they commit Idolatry against the first commandment in praying to Angels and departed Saints and the like, so here they commit secondary Idolatry: 1. In that they make Images of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which is expressly forbidden. 2. In that they honour these and other Images with divine worship. 3. In that they make the worship which they would offer to God Idolatrous, by interposing an Image which they thrust upon God against his own revealed will. And this among other things gives just and necessary cause to all the godly to separate from the Church and worship of Papists — because such worship is abominable to God, and ought to be abominable and detestable to all the godly.
Use 2. Of Exhortation: for thanksgiving to God that he has delivered us from such Idolatry, as well as to care and caution, that we communicate in no manner with such Idolatrous ordinances. Doctrine 3. Such Images are to be diligently shunned by us.
It is gathered from the manner of setting forth the command whereby with such care and so precisely all and every sort of Images are forbidden. And this is what the Apostle John means in 1 John 5:21.1
Reason 1. Because such Images belong to that greatest abomination, namely, of Idolatry, from which all the godly ought to keep themselves very far.
Reason 2 . Because there is great danger in these human inventions, lest they insensibly allure us to an apostacy or defection from God, as is evident by the words of this precept, You shall not bow yourself, nor worship, etc.
Reason 3. Because by this means we should reprove Idolaters, and as much as it lies in us, call them back from their Idolatry.
Use . Of Direction: that we always have a care to be precise2 in this kind, so that we may preserve for ourselves the worship of God, pure and undefiled. Nor then are any Images of God to be allowed, nor any other Images for holy use, nor anything of our devising that has analogy or proportion to an Image, as are all symbol-like or signifying ceremonies in divine worship introduced by men. And instructing rude and ignorant people by this means is only a vain pretence, because images are teachers of lies, Habakkuk 2:18; Jeremiah 10:8.3
1 1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
2 That is, strict.
3 Habakkuk 2:18 "What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it, The molded image, a teacher of lies, That the maker of its mold should trust in it, To make mute idols? Jeremiah 10:8 A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.