Sermons upon Deuteronomy

Now furthermore, whereas it is said that the [very] remembrance of idols must be rooted out: it is to the end that folk should be the better advised. Truly God showeth us on the one side (as I have said) how greatly he hateth all idolatry, seeing he willeth men to burn the woods & all that ever hath served to the maintenance thereof, insomuch that he will have the very stones beaten to powder, and the gold and silver broken, so as all may be quite & clean §20done away. Seeing that God doth so condemn the creatures which are good as in respect of them selves, because they have been instruments of superstition: thereby we see well that he can in no wise away with idolatry. Besides this he hath always respect to the frailty of men: for as soon as we meet with any thing, by and by we be miscarried: we be ever starting one way or other. And what is the cause? Naturally we be inclined to idolatry: and because we be §30earthly and fleshly; we be ever imagining of God some thing that seemeth good to ourselves, by reason whereof we turn him into sundry shapes. If we have never so small an occasion, by and by we be drawn unto evil. If a fly do but cross our eyes, we make an idol of it. We see then whereat God looked when he gave so strait commandment to beat down the altars, to hew down the groves, to burn up the woods, to break the images, and to destroy §40the puppets utterly. For had those things continued still among the Jews; there would ever have been some among them, which would have given themselves to the superstitions of the heathen. Tush, would they have said: what and if a man had devotion to it? it is a hallowed thing: like as at this day, such as have been nursled in papistry, are so held to it as long as they see their pelting trash, that they can never wind themselves out of it, though they would never so fain.§50 If a man that hath been long inured to the Mass do see a chalice: his mind gives him still that there is some holiness in it; whereas clean contrariwise it is as filthy and stinking an infection as any can be, and yet notwithstanding we can not conceive it. For why? As I said afore, we be fleshly by nature: and besides that, Satan useth such slight, that when he setteth such things before our eyes to beguile us with, we be snared by them out of hand;