Verse 12

Verse 12. My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them.

There is a little more difficulty in these words than in the former. Only first from the connection there is this useful ⟨p. 133⟩Note,¹ That bodily and spiritual whoredom use to go together. Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart, and then, they ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them. First they are besotted with these lusts and then they fall to the most gross ways of Idolatry, for these words in this verse seem to express the most gross and stupid Idolatry that ever was in the world, to ask counsel of their stocks, and their staff to declare unto them; but when they had given up themselves to the lusts of their hearts then they grew most sottish in their way of Idolatry. Use. Therefore we are not to marvel though men that seem to be men of understanding yet will worship stocks and stones, as your Papists; why? they give themselves up to their lusts and. then they grow to be s•• and the most gross Idolatry in the world will go down then. I remember I have read of one that law one go to Mass and presently after go to a house hard by where a whore was, he hath this speech upon it: A lupanari massam tantum esse passum: that is, there is but one step from the Mass to a whorehouse. Spiritual whoredom and bodily go together, their hearts are taken away by their whoredom, and they ask counsel at their stocks. Jewel ²in his Apology relates this that by very credible report search being made in the year 1565. for harlots belonging to the stews in Rome, there was found in Rome to the number of 28. thousand women of that sort. Thus bodily and spiritual whoredom you see how they go together; 28. thousand of such kind of women found in one City,³ in that City which we know is called the City of whoredoms, it is not only in regard of spiritual whoredom, Idolatry, but of bodily whoredom likewise, for those two as I said usually go together.