You Tube Theology

#reformed #reformedtheology

Perkins on the Second Commandment

"For whereas the second commandment forbids the worshipping of images, yea, and the making of images to resemble God, the Church of Rome does not only allow the contrary, against this commandment, but teaches others so to do, saying that it is lawful to resemble the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost in images, either painted or carved, and to worship them therein; yea, and to worship the very images of Christ, and of saints, as also the saints themselves, with religious worship."

Perkins, An Exposition on Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, in Whole Works, 1:255.

That "and" makes a huge difference to the position taken by Perkins. In another work titled, A Warning Against Idolatry of the Last Times, 7:427 (1601) here, Perkins did not have that "and."

Perkins' exposition on the Sermon on the Mount is dated post-1600. We know this because he quotes a Jesuit work published in 1600. Paul Schaefer, echoing Ian Breward, dates this exposition at 1602. Considering this date, this means Perkins changed his position which looks forward to what is confessed in WLC 109.