true God but an idole for the true God is the Father the Sonne and holy Ghost Forasmuch therefore as the Jews and Turks do not worship the Trinity they are not worshippers of the true God but as our Saviour said of the Samaritanes They worship they know not what John 4. not acknowledging the true God nor Jesus Christ whom he hath sent John 5. 23. He that honoureth not the Sonne honoureth not the Father and Whosoever denieth the Sonne hath not the Father 1. John 2. 23. Here therefore it may be demanded That seeing we are to worship the holy Trinitie whether it be lawfull to direct our prayers to some one person as to the Father to the Sonne or to the holy Ghost He that acknowledgeth the Trinitie when in his prayers he nameth one onely person he doth not exclude the other persons but rather includeth thē For in every person or supposite that is named the Divine nature is presupposed so that when the Father is nominated Christ and so the holy Ghost is the same God which is invocated and therefore as there is one essence of all the persons so one worship Furthermore concerning our Saviour Christ it may also be demanded That seeing God is the onely object of religious invocation whether he being the mediatour between God and man is to be invocated and if he be how and in what respect we are to call upon him That he is to be called upon as our Lord and Saviour in whose name we are baptized in whom we believe and trust there is no doubt All men must honour him as they honour the Father John 5. 23. and All the angels must adore him Heb. 1. 6. and to his name must every knee bow Phil. 2. 10. Examples Stephen Acts 7. 59. Thomas John 20. 28. the Apostles Luke 24. 52. But all the question is Whether we are to call upon Christ as God alone or as man alone or as both God and man Since our Saviour Christ was incarnate and did personally and inseparably unite unto himself the humane nature his whole person as he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Immanuel God manifested in the flesh is to be worshipped by one and the same act of invocation and worship without separation or division The Papists have found out a peculiar worship for the humanitie of Christ and for the blessed Virgin which they call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But the humanitie of Christ as it doth not subsist of it self so are we not severally to worship it with Nestorius but the whole person both God and man But yet so as that our prayer be not directed to the humanity which is a creature but to the Sonne of God having assumed and united unto himself the humane nature So saith Cyrill Non igitur tanquam hominem adoramus Emmanuelem Absit Deliramentum enim hoc esset deceptio ac error In hoc enim nihil differremus ab his qui creaturam colunt ultra Conditorem Factorem that is We do not therefore worship our Emmanuél as man alone God forbid For this were a dotage a false conceit and errour neither should we in this differ from those which worship the creature more then their Creatour and Maker To conclude this second point Whereas the whole world almost is overflown with idolatry as with an universall deluge the Paganes invocating a multitude of false gods the Jews and Turks worshipping one God but not in the Trinitie of persons nor acknowledging Jesus Christ the Papists which call themselves the Catholick Church invocating besides the true God a multitude of angels and Saints images the crosse and Eucharist and in their prayers representing the invisible and incomprehensible God in a visible form notwithstanding God in his great mercy hath taken us who professe the reformed religion into the ark of his Church teaching us by his word and spirit to call upon him the true God in the name of Christ his Sonne himself also being near unto us as he was to the Church of Israel in all that we call upon him for Deut. 4. 7. CHAP. XIIII That Christ alone is the Mediatour of intercession as well as redemption HAving spoken of the subject of invocation viz. men and the object viz. God we are now in the third place to enquire how it cometh to passe that man being stained and polluted with sinne and by reason thereof an enemie to God should have any accesse unto God or be admitted to any speech with him who is most just and terrible a consuming fire hating all iniquitie with perfect hatred Indeed it must be confessed that sinne maketh a separation between God and man and that both we are unworthy in our selves to appear before God and our prayers also by reason of our manifold wants and corruptions unworthy to be offered unto him And therefore of necessitie a mediatour was to come between God and man who reconciling us unto God and covering our imperfections might make both our persons and our prayers acceptable unto God And for as much as it was needfull that the justice of God should be satisfied in the same nature wherein he had been offended neither could obedience be performed to the law given to man nor the punishment due to the sinnes of man be satisfied but by man neither could the righteousnesse be meritorious for all nor the price of ransome sufficient if the person which should perform both were not God It was likewise needfull that the mediatour who should reconcile us unto God and make us and our prayers acceptable unto him should be both God and man therefore God in his unspeakable mercy hath appointed and given his onely begotten Sonne to be our Mediatour Advocate and Intercessour who having assumed our nature should therein satisfie his justice and appease his wrath and having performed perfect obedience for us and given himself a ransome for our sinnes should ascend into heaven and there sitting at the right hand of the Father should make intercession for us that both the persons of such as believe in him and their prayers which call upon God in his name should be accepted of him But as in the former points we were forced to prove two things not onely that God is to be invocated but that he alone is to be called upon and not Saints and Angels so in this we are by the like superstition of the Papists compelled to demonstrate two things first that Christ is the onely Mediatour of intercession and secondly that we are alwayes to call upon God in his name For as they invocate others besides God and so are indeed worshippers of more gods so have they appointed other mediatours and intercessours besides Christ. And the reason is alike in both But the Apostle teacheth us That as there is but one God so there is but one Mediatour between God and man the man Christ. The Papists make two sorts of mediatours the one
they ascribe unto them omnipresence if as to absent they ascribe to them omniscience Both which are blasphemous Besides when they invocate they ascribe omnipotencie to them and therefore repose their trust in them But God alone is to be trusted in because he alone is omnipotent and cursed is he that trusteth in man Jer. 17. 5. II. Again mere men are not religiously to be adored It is Peters reason Acts 10. 26 and Pauls Acts 14. 15. If Christ himself had been but a mere man or a creature though a god by creation yet ought not he religiously to be adored and much lesse the Saints who are but the servants of Christ. Therefore the ancient Fathers termed the Arians who supposed Christ to be God by creation and yet worshipped him idolaters and the Nestorians likewise who supposed the humanitie of Christ to be a distinct person from the Sonne of God III. To leave God who hath commanded us to call upon him and hath promised to heare us and is most willing and onely able to help us and to run to the Saints who neither have commanded us as having no such authoritie nor have promised to heare and help us as having no such power yea are so farre from hearing and helping that they neither know us nor our desires and so farre from commanding us to call upon them as they have forbidden us so to do and alwayes directed us to call upon God Acts 10. 26. and 14. 15. is a thing in-religion impious and in reason absurd IV. To call upon Saints is a thing most injurious unto God and Christ our Saviour derogatorie from the glory of God as though they were either more ready to heare or more willing or more able to help us or that we had more confidence in their love then in the mercies of God and intercession of Christ our Saviour But it is lawfull to intreat the Saints upon earth to pray for us why then may we not desire the Saints in heaven much more to pray to God for us To intreat the Saints living on earth to pray for us hath warrant in the Scriptures as having been a dutie injoyned by God Gen. 20. 7. Job 42. 8. Jam. 5. 14 16. and also practiced by the faithfull Rom. 5. 30. Ephes. 6. 19. But praying to Saints departed hath no warrant in the Scriptures as the Papists themselves are forced to confesse Nay it is directly forbidden and those which do it commit two evils forsaking God the fountain of living waters and digging out to themselves cisterns broken cisterns that can hold no water Jer. 2. 13. They worship the creature 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 1. 25. praeterito Creatore passing by the Creatour ut Hilarius interpretatur De Trinitate lib. 12. 2. The Saints living with us are acquainted with our persons and our wants and therefore may pray in particular for us and so cannot the Saints departed 3. The request made in this behalf to the faithfull living is a civil intreaty of a Christian duty but as it is made to the Saints departed it is a religious invocation of them to do that for us which is the peculiar office of the Mediatour Neither do they onely intreat the Saints to pray for us and desire God that for the merits intercession of the Saints he would grant their desires which is to give the office of Christ to them But also they desire the Saints themselves to bestow upon them such blessings as they desire both spirituall and temporall and to avert from them such evils as they fear Wherein the Papists have made the Saints to succeed the heathen gods ascribing unto them their severall offices and functions insomuch that there is no countrey citie or town but hath certain Saints to patronize them as the heathen had their tutelares deos no trade or occupation which hath not a peculiar Saint no kind of cattel or tame fowl which have not their patrones no kind of disease but some Saint or other is called upon for the curing thereof as the dii averrunci or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 among the heathen So that if there were no other fault in Popery their idolatry were sufficient cause of separation from them But the Saints departed do pray for us therefore we ought to pray unto them It may well be supposed that the Saints departed do pray in common for the faithfull upon the earth as fellow-members of the same bodie But they are not acquainted with particular persons or their particular wants or desires or if they were yet it would not follow that we should pray to them no more then we are bound to invocate religiously the Saints upon earth whom we know according to their dutie do pray for us August contra Faust. Manich lib. 20. c. 21. Colimus martyres â—…o cultu dilectionis societatis quo in hac vita coluntur sancti homines We worship the martyrs with that worship of love and societie with which even in this life holy men are worshipped Notwithstanding the Papists think this consequence to be so strong as they take it for granted that if the Saints make intercession for us we must pray to them Insomuch that Bellarâ—…ine when he would prove against our King That invocation of Saints was taught by the ancient Fathers in stead of that he proveth ridiculously the intercession of Saints for us CHAP. XIII That we must conceive of God in prayer as he hath revealed himself in his word SEeing then the Lord alone is to be called upon religiously it remaineth that we consider how we are to conceive of God when we do call upon him viz. not according to the fansies of our own brain but as he hath revealed himself in his word both in respect of the Divine nature and also the Divine persons In respect of his nature that he is a spirit invisible and incomprehensible omnipotent and infinite most holy wise just and mercifull c. And in regard of the Divine persons that being a God in essence substance one and indivisible he is notwithstanding distinguished into three persons the Father the Sonne and the holy Ghost who as they be not in nature disjoyned so are they not to be severed in their worship but the Unitie in Trinitie and Trinitie in Unitie is to be worshipped and adored Whosoever therefore in respect of Gods nature do circumscribe God worshipping him under any form whether outwardly expressed or inwardly conceived as namely in the form of an old man c. in stead of the true God they do worship an idole Such was the erroneous conceit of the Anthropomorphites and such is the superstitious worship of the Papists at this day Likewise in respect of the persons whosoever shall call upon God as not distinguished into three persons howsoever they may professe that they invocate one onely true God maker of heaven and earth yet they do not worship the
A GODLY AND LEARNED TREATISE OF PRAYER Which both conteineth in it the Doctrine of Prayer and also sheweth the Practice of it in the exposition of the LORDS PRAYER By that faithfull and painfull servant of God GEORGE DOWNAME Doct r of Divinity and late L. Bishop of Dery in the Realm of Ireland 1. THESS 5. 17 18. Pray without ceasing in every thing give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you ¶ Printed at Cambridge by ROGER DANIEL for Nicolas Bourn and are to be sold at his shop at the South-entrance into the Royall Exchange in London 1640. THE DOCTRINE OF PRAYER Teaching the nature efficacie utilitie and necessity of this holy duty by whom unto whom and through whom it is to be performed what things are required that our prayers may be acceptable both in respect of our souls and bodies both before in and after prayer and more especially of the parts of Prayer Petition and Thanksgiving LUKE II. 1. One of his disciples said unto him Lord teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples ¶ Printed by Roger Daniel Printer to the Universitie of Cambridge Ann. Dom. MDCXL To the Christian Reader THere is no duty more excellent in it self or profitable to us then that of Prayer Wherein we have sweet communion with God and free accesse to the throne of grace laying open to a gracious Father all our wants and grievances in hope and confidence to have our suits granted our sinnes pardoned our necessities supplyed and our griefs removed and relieved It is that hand and key which helpeth to unlock and open the treasury of all Gods graces for the enriching of our souls with all his blessings the horsmen and chariots of the Israel of God whereby they get victorie over all their enemies yea they prevail with God whē he seemeth to oppose against them as an enemie and to wrestle with them that he may soil and overthrow them as he did with Jacob. In all which and innumerable other respects as it is to be esteemed the chiefest exercise of a godly and Christian life which can never be too much practiced as the Apostle implyeth where he injoyneth us to pray continually and in all things to give thanks so can it never be sufficiently insisted upon in the doctrine of it whereby we are pressed perswaded to the frequent exercise of it and taught to perform it in a right and acceptable manner In which regard though much already hath been excellently spoken and written upon this subject yet let no man think it superfluous to have more published of this argument seeing that can never be too much taught which is never sufficiently learned and loved The ensuing Treatises were the labours of that learned judicious and godly Divine D. Downame late Bishop of Dery in the Realm of Ireland my most dear brother which were penned with his own hand for his private use but for the publick service of that part of Gods Church over which he was a painfull and faithfull Pastour conteining the summe of many of his sermons which he preached on this argument The which if he had been pleased to have polished and perfected with his own learned hand no doubt much would have been added to their lustre and beautie Yet seeing this was not done according to his better abilities I thought it a dammage to Gods people that they should lose the substance for the want of some circumstance and have no use of a well-compacted bodie fit to do God and his Church good service because it was not decked with gay ornaments And therefore I have presented it to the view of the world and indeavoured to perform the dutie of a brother to him that is deceased though not to raise this spirituall seed to him for it was of his own begetting and composing yet to give unto it birth and being in the world without which it would have proved abortive and so have been buried in perpetuall oblivion The which service I have the more willingly undertaken for the benefit of all that will take pains to peruse this work because I am now disabled by age and many infirmities to produce any further labours of mine own in this kind wherein I have not been wanting in my more able and mature times according to the proportion of my small talent which my great Lord and Master hath entrusted me with Herein imitating the example of the weaker sex who after they have been fruitfull in bearing children themselves and now being come to older age are disabled to have any more conceptions do some of them become midwives who are helpfull to those who are young and fruitfull for the bringing of their children into the world The Lord whose onely blessing maketh all our indeavours profitable by giving efficacie unto them by the inward operation of his holy Spirit blesse these and all other labours of his servants that they may bring forth plentifull fruits for the advancement of his glory and the benefit of all his children who are willing to make use of them to these ends Thine in the Lord Jesus to do thee any Christian service JOHN DOVVNAME ¶ The contents of the Chapters of the first part of this Treatise viz. The Doctrine of Prayer together with the chief points therein handled Chap. 1. OF the definition of Prayer and of the persons who are to pray Pag. 1 Of the name of Invocation and Prayer 2 Of the generall nature of prayer 3 Of the proper nature of prayer 4 What is required in invocation acceptable to God 5 Who ought to pray 6 7 c. 2. Reasons moving to the dutie of prayer 8 9 c. 3. Other motives to the dutie of prayer 11 4. Three questions cleared 14 Whether prayer be efficacious to obtein our desires 15 That prayer is necessary notwithstanding Gods decree 16 17 c. 5. Of the great and wonderfull efficacy of prayer 21 6. Whether by prayer we alwayes obtein our desires 26 7. Of the profit of prayer 29 8. A threefold necessity of prayer 32 9. Who are to perform the duty of prayer 33 10. None but the faithfull can pray effectually and acceptably 37 That the impenitent cannot pray acceptably 39 In what respect God heareth the wicked 47 11. That God alone is to be called upon 51 12. That we ought not to invocate any creature 58 That Angels and Saints are not to be invocated 59 That Saints departed are not to be invocated 61 Chap. 13 That we must conceive of God in prayer as he hath revealed himself in his word 64 Whether Christ as Mediatour is to be invocated 66 14. That Christ alone is the Mediatour of intercession as well as of redemption 68 15. That we must pray onely in the name of Christ 77 16. Of the manner how we are to call upon God 80 That we must pray with upright hearts 82 c. That we must not pray with feigned lips and wandring
the Father hath already given unto us In the second petition we desire that we may be drawn out of the power of darknesse and given unto Christ that he may rule in us by his word and Spirit Neither as I think would Christ have taught us to say Give us that bread of ours but rather that bread of thine For we are Christs and Christ is Gods 1. Cor 3. 22. and he is that bread of God which came down from heaven Neither would he teach us to ask this bread for a day but rather for ever And as touching the body of the prayer which is a summe not of all Divinity as they imagine but onely of those things which we are to ask as the Decalogue is the summe agendorum of things to be done and the Creed credendorum of things to be believed it may not be thought that in this perfect summe our Saviour Christ hath omitted any thing which we are to ask But if you shall not expound this petition of temporall blessings you cannot comprehend them in any other petition for to say that they â—…e comprehended in the first it is too violent an exposition As for the Papists that expound this petition of the Sacrament of the Altar they are more absurd For besâ—…des the reasons alledged they contradict themselves both by a divers exposition translating the same word Luke 11. 3. daily and by their practice For if the people arâ—… to ask that bread every day then are they bound in conscience to give it them every day whereas indeed they give it unto them but once a yeare Others derive the word of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which word is used five times in the Acts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 scilicet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is the day following For of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 adventare to come the participle is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now if you expound the word crastinus the sense will not agree that we should ask to morrows bread to day especially seeing our Saviour biddeth us not to care for the morrow But if you expound it as some do succedaneus that succeedeth which is all one in sense with quotidianus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 daily the sense will well agree viz. That we ask that bread which daily we stand in need of cujus successione atque accessione quotidie egemus whose succession and accession we daily need Others expound 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quasi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 scilicet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 convenieâ—…t for substance and being as Suidas Basil in his short 252 questions expoundeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that breâ—…d which fitteth our substance for the maintenance of this temporary life So Theophylact and Euthymius Gr. Schol. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 convenient for our substance and being So that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our daily bread signifieth that portion of temporall things which thou hast assigned as most fit and convenient for us Sic Beza 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 interpretatur panem cibarium vel panem nobis sustentandis idoneum So Beza interpreteth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bread fit for meals or convenient to sustein us This exposition I take to be the safest not onely because it is made by the Greek writers whose judgement in this case we are rather to follow then the Latines but also because it agreeth with the Syriack interpretation Da nobis panem necessitatis nostrae But especially because it fully agreeth with that prayer of Agur Pro. 30. 8. Give me not poverty nor riches but nourish me 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cibo dimensi mei vel pane praescripti vel portione quam assignasti mihi With the bread which thou hast allowed me or with meat appointed for my portion or give me the portion which thou hast assigned me as Gen. 47. 22. or as the LXXII interpret Give me 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 August Constitue mihi quae necessaria sunt sufficienter Give me those things which are necessary in a sufficient measure Now whereas the Lord Jesus doth direct us thus to pray he teacheth us to avoid two extremâ—…ties that we neither covet abundance nor affect poverty according to Agurs prayer Prov. 30. 8. Give me not poverty nor riches but feed me with food convenient for me For those that desire either of these know not their own infirmity Wealth many times is accompanied with these vices 1. Pride oblivion and contempt of God Deut. 8. 11 14 17. and 32. 15. 2. Chron. 32. 25. August Divitiarum morbus superbia Pride is the disease of riches 2. Disdain and contempt of our brethren Luke 16. Dives 3. Security Psal. 30. 6. Luke 12. 19. 4. Confidence in riches Psal. 49. 6. Job 31. 24. 1. Tim. 6. 17. 5. The choking of Gods word in them Matth. 13. 6. The nailing of men unto the earth setting their heart and affections upon their pelf Psal. 62. 10. whereby it cometh to passe that they serve Mammon And these corruptions are not onely incident to the wicked but sometimes also to the children of God And therefore the Lord many times denieth prosperity to his children for their good and granteth it to the wicked who have their portion in this life Psal. 17. 17. Luke 16. 25. On the other side poverty is accompanied many times with 1. murmuring against God 2. repining at the better estate of others 3. distrust in Gods providence 4. using of unlawfull means 5. abandoning of all religion taking a desperate course of life as though they were perswaded that they have served God for nought Agur therefore finding these infirmities in himself which indeed naturally are in us all desireth the Lord that he would give unto him neither poverty nor riches left saith he I be full and deny thee and say Who is the Lord or lest I be poore and steal and take the name of my God in vain Prov. 30. 8 9. Here therefore two sorts of men are condemned 1. Those worldlings who covet after abundance of wealth not knowing that they further and increase their condemnation 2. Those superstitious Papists that vow voluntary poverty whereby they become unthankfull to God and unprofitable to men But our Saviour teacheth us to follow the middle course and commendeth to us a moderate desire of that which is necessary and convenient for us both for our own sustenance and also relief of others Now the same measure is not necessary and convenient for all men in respect of themselves For there is a necessity 1. of Nature quatenus homo as we are men 2. of Person quatenus solus est vel familiam habet as a man is alone or hath a family 3. of State quatenus est persona publica vel privata as he is a publick or private person The necessity of nature which is content with a little is satisfied with food and raiment 1. Tim. 6. 8.