call Prayer And to make this matter so plain that it can neither be misunderstood nor denied Suppose a Man visited with the Pestilence or any other dangerous Distemper to desire his Physitian to apply his best Skill to recover him Is this Prayer or Religious Invocation No they will not say it is But if the same Person desires the B. Virgin or St. Roche or St. Sebastian to restore him to health This they will confess to be Prayer And the reason of the Difference is not that the Physitian is desired to help the Patient by his skill in natural Remedies and the Saints by their Intercession with God For suppose that the Patient sends for the Priest and desires him to pray for him they will not say that this Desire is a Prayer to the Priest or a Religious Invocation of him They will tell you that the Sick Man desires or demands the assistance of the Priests Prayers But still if he calls upon the B. Virgin or any of the Saints departed to help him by their Prayers this is properly and in the account of Religion praying to them What then is the reason of the Difference for here is a Request made to the Priest and to the Saint and the same Request too why is one Prayer and the other not Now though we should not perfectly agree with our Adversaries about the reason of the Difference yet so long as it is and must be acknowledged that the honest Requests we make to one another upon Earth are not that part of Religion which we call Prayer but that the Requests which we make to the departed Saints are Prayer so long I say as this is granted 't is plain That this their common Argument It is lawful and profitable to desire the assistance of our Brethrens Prayers here upon Earth and therefore it is lawful and profitable to call upon those in Heaven to assist us with their Prayers is very deceitful For this is as much as to say Those Requests which are not Prayer may be lawfully made to Creatures and therefore those which are Prayer may be made to Creatures as lawfully as those that are not Now if you desire to know what it is in this case that makes the difference I think the Answer is very plain For the difference is not to be taken 1. From the Matter of the Request for that is the same Nor 2. from the Persons themselves to whom the request is made for if the Saint departed were here why would my requesting of the same thing be Prayer to him and not to the Priest And therefore 3. It must necessarily lye in the different Circumstances of the Priest and the Saint that the former is with me and the latter is absent from me Requests made to the Faithful are made to those that are within the compass of civil Conversation But the same Requests made to the B. Virgin and the Saints are made to those that are departed out of the compass of civil Conversation And this is that which makes them not to be Prayer in the former case and to be Prayer in the latter But if it be further inquired why it is Prayer to ask the same things of those that are distant from civil Conversation which to ask of those that are within the compass of it is not Prayer The Reason seemes plainly to be this That when I address my self to one that is within the compass of civil Conversation in which Men use to hear or to understand one another my Assurance that he hears me does no way ascribe to him a Knowledge or a Presence which is above the Condition of a Creature But if I invoke the Saints every where with Assurance that they hear me I have no other reasonable ground of such Assurance then that they are every where present at the same time For if I acknowledge that there is a certain limited Compass within which they can hear and know let this Limit be never so wide how can I be assured that they are not out of that Compass when I speak to them But the Romanists pray every where to every Saint believing that they are heard It is certain says one of them (e) Bellar. de sanct Beat. l. 1. c. 20. that the Saints know what we bring forth by the Affection of the Heart only (f) Pesant 1 Thom. qu. 12. Art 10. disput 7. It is of Faith saith another that the Blessed know our Prayers which we pour out to them else it were in vain to make them Now a Request does undoubtedly become Prayer or Religious Invocation when the making of it attributes any Divine Prerogative or Perfection to the Being that is called upon and therefore because Immensity of Presence is an incommunicable Perfection of God and because also Requests made to those that are out of all lines of civil Communication being made in Faith do ascribe that Power to them which is proper to God only Therefore such Requests are properly Prayer or Religious Invocation It is indeed very possible that he that prays to the B. Virgin and to the Saints may not believe that they are Omni-present but if he prayes as they pretend to do in the R. Church with Assurance that they hear him his Prayer implies it and himself by Construction of the Fact ascribes it to them For let him if he can produce any other reasonable ground of Assurance that they hear him wheresoever and whensoever he addresses to them But instead of that M. de Meaux tells us That the Church contents her self to teach with All Antiquity not all Antiquity I am sure those Prayers to be very profitable to such who make them whether it be the Saints know them by the Ministry and Communication of Angels who according to the Testimony of the Scripture know what passes amongst us Exp. p. 8. c. whether it be that God himself makes known to them our Desires by a particular Revelation or lastly whether it be that he discovers the Secret to them in his Divine Essence in which all Truth is comprized Now if his Church could have taught us upon what grounds they are assured that the Saints do hear them either this way or that way or that God has in general revealed to us that they hear or know the Prayers we make to them one way or other and therefore that it is profitable to pray to them she had not been content to teach that the Saints do know them some way or other though she knows not how or why For what foundation that they hear us can be gathered from such uncertain and loose Conjectures as these are Can any Man convince me that a thing is done by telling me that it might be done by some way or other for any thing he knows to the contrary And is this kind of Arguing a sufficient Ground to establish so solemn a part of Religion as the Invocation of Saints I know 't
be made of it in comparison to which the Danger of it were nothing at all how comes it to be so severely Prohibited But when we consider for whose sake chiefly they pretend the Profitableness of Image-worship we see how true it is that the Wisdom of Man is but Foolishness when it would mend the provisions of God For Images are by all means to be retain'd and honor'd because they are the Books and Remembrances of the Common People and Helps to their Piety and Devotions who therefore cannot be without them Trid. sess 25. De. Invoc S. But M. de Meaux knows that these are most apt to be led into the worst Superstitions by Images and that it is one of the hardest things in the World to prevent it M. de Meaux tells us their Intention is not so much to honor the Image as the Apostle or Martyr He will say too that 't is the Intention of the Church that none of the People should intend more then this comes to But let him tell me how or where the Church has exprest her self with the least degree of that Zeal which the redressing of such horrible abuses in this matter as are every where known does still require The Superstition of the vulgar in their Communion is notorious and which is still worse the Doctrines leading to the most Superstitious Opinions and Practices in this kind were and are notorious for instance That the same worship is due to the Image which is due to the Prototype And are not these things uncensured by the Church of Rome to this day If indeed we could once see that Church bestir her self against the gross Excess of Image-worship as she does against those that do not worship Images at all we might allow something to this Exposition of their Intentions But as far as we can see they that worship the very Images themselves and put confidence in them go for very good Catholicks while we that dare not worship them at all because God has forbidden it are for our forbearance used as they use Hereticks But setting all this aside what signifies the Intention of the Church if it ran through all the Members of it against an express Prohibition in the Scriptures It is not lawful to do that with a Distinction which is forbidden without a distinction God hath said Thou shalt not bow down to Images nor worship them If indeed he had elsewhere made an Exception to this Rule it had been lawful for us to have made use of his permission it had been necessary for us to have observed his command in the excepted Case But where God hath not excepted or distinguished we ought not to do so unless we will open a door to evacuate all divine Laws whatsoever by arbitrary Distinctions and Reservations In short that Worship which they pretend to give to the Saints by their Images has these two terrible Prejudices against it 1. That the Honor which they give to the Saints by their Images supposing none of it to be lost by the way is not to be given to the Saints themselves as we have shewn already 2. That the Worship of Images let it be explicated with all the Fineness and Arts of Disguise they are Masters of is after all to be utterly excluded out of Religion This being a Worship which God will by no means endure should be given to himself having universally prohibited it Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Image nor the likeness of any thing that is c. which is to my understanding as plain a Prohibition of all Image-worship whatsoever as these words would have been an Injunction of it viz. Thou shalt make to thy self such or such Images and Pictures and shalt bow down before them and worship them if this had been said instead of the contrary Now indeed if this had been said it had been extremely necessary to distinguish between Relative Worship and Absolute Worship between Worship terminated upon the Image and Intended to the person represented by the Image between taking it for a God or a Saint and taking it only for some Representation of the one or the other But as in that case such distinctions had been very necessary so as the case stands they are vain and impertinent For if Image-worship had been commanded or permitted still we had been to worship Images but as Images But it being forbidden we are not to worship them at all I say if it had been allowed we must indeed have worshipped them with a Distinction but as it is forbidden we must not worship them tho with a distinction because 't is forbidden without any distinction and as universally as words can express any thing M. de Meaux says that after the same manner we ought to understand the Honor which they pay to Reliques after the Example of the Primitive Church The Example of the Primitive Church shall be considered in its place In the mean time If the Worship of Images and the Worship of Reliques are to stand or fall together we have already seen what will become of this having shewn how unsuccesfully they plead for the other But if M. de Meaux pleads for the Practice of the people or even the Doctrine of his Church in this Point he must pardon us if we do not think fit to take general Apologies for a reasonable Inducement to do those things which he was not willing to name in particular We may say in general says M. de Meaux That if Protestants would but consider how the Affection which we bear to any one propagates it self without being divided to his Children to his Friends and after that by several degrees to the Representation of him to any Remains of him and to any thing which renews in us his Remembrance If they did but conceive that Honor has the like Progression seeing Honor is nothing else but Love mixed with Respect and Fear In fine if they would but consider that all the exterior Worship of the Catholick Church has its Source in God himself and returns back again to him They would never believe that this Worship which he himself alone animates could excite his Jealousie M. de Meaux considered very well that it was much better to put us off with this general Account than to mention the Particulars he goes about to Justifie It seems the Worship of Reliques is intended for the Honor of the Martyrs and the Worship of the Martyrs for the Honor of God But what kind of Superstition might not be defended by such Apologies as these if men's Blood Bones Teeth Hairs Coats Girdles Shoes and such like little things may be incensed if they may be exposed with a Venite ad adorandum to receive the Prostrations of the people Catech. R. de Cultu sanct in the presence of Christ himself whom they suppose to be bodily present upon the Altar if they may be sought unto for great Graces and for miraculous Cures if
respected even till now as the Doctors of Truth But hold a little if great Names will do the business let us see what we can do in this kind Can you endure my Brethren those who have forsaken the Ireneus's the Justin-Martyrs the Clemens's of Alexandria the Tertullians the Origens the Cyprians the Athanasius's whom all Christians do pretend even now to respect as Doctors of Truth Those my Brethren that were more Ancient than the Ambroses c. and most of whom laid down their lives in a Glorious Martyrdom which none of the other did It is true Brethren p. 29. that some part of the Prophecies was fulfilled when the Empire took the Church into its protection but we do not find it was foretold also that the Christians of that Age would be wiser or better than their Forefathers p. ◠Does not Monsieur de Meaux tell us that Antichrist must come according to the Predictions of the Apostles But when that happens the times are not to be much the better for it It was the admirable goodness of God to Crown the Church at last with Peace and Glory But do not think the Authority of that Age is to be regarded the more because it was Illustrious for the Wealth and Splendor of this World least by the same reason you should undervalue the Authority of the more Ancient Ages which were Illustrious for nothing but Truth and Godliness and Martyrdom which if you should do my Brethren might we not well cry out Oh prodigy unheard of amongst Christians that we should begin to think it a better mark of a pure Church to have it in its power to persecute others than to endure persecution her self after the example of Christ and his Apostles It is an easie matter to requite a Declamation But would not the Bishop of Meaux say to this that the Ireneus's c. do not condemn what is now practised in the Church of Rome So do we say that we are far from charging the Ambroses c. with Idolatry and that the Doctrines and Practises of that Age with respect to the points that we are upon are so vastly different from what we now see in the Church of Rome that if the Church of Rome be Idolatrous it does by no means follow that the Fourth Age was so So that we must come to disputing at last whether we will or not if we talk of these questions to any purpose I have shewn the first steps that were made towards the Invocation of Saints which I confess is an Innovation maintained by the Church of Rome that of all the rest bids the fairest for Antiquity Because there was a certain Address to Martyrs used by many Christians and commended by some of the Fathers towards the latter end of the Fourth Age which looks something like it till you come near to examine the matter throughly But then you may discern so considerable a difference that 't is a vain thing to pretend that the Invocation of Saints as now practised in the Church of Rome was as Ancient as the Conclusion of the Fourth Age. All that we need to grant is this That those beginnings are so Ancient which first did give occasion to it and which with the help of Ignorance and Superstition did at length bring it into the Church § 10. Hitherto the Honour done to the Martyrs was that of Founding Churches upon their Reliques and frequenting them both for the publick Service of God and for private Devotions in which the Martyrs themselves were sometimes called upon as if they were present at their Memories But this was done before their Images came to be set up in the Church so much as for Ornament and long before they were thought of for Worship We have already noted the Act of Epiphanius in tearing the Picture of Christ or some other Saint for he knew not well what it was which he found upon a Veil An act of Indignation so much the more remarkable because the Church where it was done was in the Diocess of John Bishop of Hierusalem Hieron Tom. 2. Ep. 60. v. fin to whom therefore Epiphanius thought fit to give an account of it in that Epistle which is to be seen in St. Hierom's Works And the reason he gives for what he did is as remarkable as the Action was When I saw this in a Church of Christ that the Picture of a man should be hanged up there against the Authority of the Scriptures I tare it c. And again I intreat thee to command the Presbyters of that place to provide for the future that such Veils being contrary to what our Religion allows may not be hanged up in the Church of Christ. But as for the Images of Martyrs and Saints why should I go about to prove that they were not yet brought into Churches when the pretended Catholicks are fain to give reasons why they were hardly to be met with amongst Christians even out of Churches Petavius excuseth the matter thus The Images of Christ and the Saints were not used lest they should be taken by the rude and unskilful people for Idols to which they shad been accustomed And afterward Petav. Dogm Theol. Tom. 4. part 2. c. 13. p. 582 583. Images are not evil of themselves nor forbidden by any Law of God nevertheless that no shadow of Superstition and Idolatry might give offence to the tender and as I may say the unsetled minds of Christians and that the Gentiles might not object to those of our Religion who abhorred Idols and disswaded men from them that themselves also had certain Images of their own is likely they were but sparingly used for about the first Four Ages all which time the abominable Worship of Devils in Idols together with a most cruel vexation of the Christian name went on At length the Fifth Age being come after that the Church had gained her freedom and began boldly to stretch forth her arms Images began to appear in most places and were shewn in Temples and Oratories whereas hitherto though they had been in some use yet they were not to be seen so promiscuously and frequently In good time But if such a man as Petavius could have shewn any use of Images all this while that any Art could draw to his purpose he had not served the Cause with this miserable account of the late setting up of Images With the like to which Salmeron satisfied himself as to the silence of the Scriptures about the Worship of Saints as we have already seen Now to make this appear likely he insists upon it that the Ancients disputed against the Temples and Altars of the Heathens though when peace and liberty was given to the Church the Christians had magnificent Churches and Altars of their own But nothing can be more vain for from the first the Church had its Altars or holy Tables and its holy Places too such as the times would permit And therefore this Instance doth
Again Thou having the power of a Mother with God dost beyond measure gain Pardon for them who sin beyond measure For it cannot be that thou shouldst not be heard because to all purposes and in all things and through all things God obeys thee as his true and immaculate Mother This was pretty well for the eighth Age as likewise was that of Damascene who calls the B. Virgin †Joh. Damasc lib. 4. c. 15. The Lady and Go verness of all Creatures No wonder therefore that Cardinal Peter Damian coming long after these telleth her that she comes before the Altar of Reconciliation not asking only but commanding as a Lady not as a Servant I know not whether he was the Author of those glorious Titles which have since furnished some of the Hymns that we meet with in the Offices of the Blessed Virgin * Hom. 46 de Nativ B Mar. 1. Tom. 2 p. 106. The Queen of the World The Window of Heaven The Gate of Paradise The Tabernacle of God The Star of the Sea The Heavenly Ladder by which the Heavenly King came down to us below and by which man who grovelled upon the ground ascends in exaltation to Heaven But Anselm that lived in the same Age with him speaks more fully ‖ Anselm Cant. de Excell Virgin c. 11. As God is the Father and God of all things by his power creating all things so Blessed Mary the Mother of God restoring all things by her Merits is the Mother and Lady of the Vniverse Which agrees very well with that reason he had given before why her Son went to Heaven before her †Ibid. c. 7. Perhaps O Lord lest thy Court in Heaven should stand in doubt whom it should rather go out to meet See Answer to Jesuits Chall from p. 478. to p. 495. thee their Lord coming to take possession of thy Kingdom or her their Lady ascending to that Kingdom also which belonged to her by a Mothers right To this nothing could be added in so little a time beyond Bonaventure's Psalter who taking the Psalms of David put in Lady instead of Lord in this manner O come let us sing unto our Lady c. Let every thing that hath breath praise our Lady But not content with this he framed the * Psalt Bonav p. 111 112 Paris Athanasian Creed to her Service too beginning thus Whosoever will be saved before all things it is necessary that he should hold a firm Faith concerning the Virgin Mary which Faith except a man keep whole and undefiled without doubt he shall perish everlastingly And now whosoever shall consider the Litanies of the Blessed Virgin and her Rosaries and the Prayers and Hymns of her Saturday's Office and her Psalters and the vast number of Books of Devotion to her and the Worship that is accordingly given to her in pretended Catholick Countries whosoever shall consider what they say to her in those Prayers and Hymns c. which the Speculum Beatoe Virginis just now published has put together may perhaps find there are Causes of Horror which Monsieur de Meaux is not so much concerned at as he ought to be He may justly fear that if the Reformation did not give some little check neither would these excesses stop here though in many places nothing now remains to be done but without any farther reservedness to erect Altars proper to the Blessed Virgin in every Church as the †Trigautii Exp. ad Sinas lib. 5. c. 15.20 Jesuites began to do in China O Blessed God look down in thy mercy upon the miserable estate of Christianity in so many parts of the Christian World When the Blessed Virgin foretold that all Generations should call her Blessed did she mean that all Generations would Worship her would Worship her Images and Pictures would make her a Mediatrix between God and man would ascribe to her the power not of prevailing with Jesus only for any thing but of commanding him too would offer Jesus himself a Sacrifice in her Honour should burn Incense to her would use Rosaries Hours and Psalters for her especial Invocation and Service would institute and maintain Fraternities for that Service would build Temples and Chappels to her and Altars and by most solemn Invocation every-where and by proper Rites of Religious Worship and by letting Devotion run out to her more than to our Lord Jesus himself to agnize her to be the Lady of Heaven and Earth the Queen of the World No she did not mean thus in saying that all Generations should call her Blessed For thus all Generations have not served her Nothing of all this was done to her for several Generations after Christ nor any thing of it in comparison till the dregs of Time till the decay of Learning and Piety made way for gross Superstition The first beginnings of these Corruptions were more general but the Improvements of them were chiefly owing to the See of Rome which as it grew in power and greatness so it protected those Abuses more effectually A Character very ill-beseeming a Church that pretends to be the Pillar and Ground of Truth The Wit of Man could not devise any thing more serviceable to Errour to make it spread in the World and to fix it than that a powerful See grasping at Supremacy and pretending to Infallibility should take it under her wing This See is the Source of all those Oppositions which they have met with that demanded a Reformation it is this See alone which hath obstructed a general Reformation when Christendom was otherwise well disposed towards it Therefore when Reformation by common consent was made Impossible by the See of Rome what remained but that the National Churches should reform themselves Our Reformation was a return to Primitive Antiquity and that it may prove a leading example let us pray without ceasing That God would bring into the way of Truth all such as have erred and are deceived THE END Faults to be Corrected PAge 81 seventh line from the bottom for Consciences read Concessions P. 82 l. 3. for Reconciled r. Recommended P. 80 l. 6. for them read then P. 88 l. 7. for safely r. falsly P. 92 l. 3. for Prayers r. Praises A Catalogue of some Discourses Sold by T. Basset at the George in Fleetstreet 1. A Perswasive to an Ingenuous Tryal of Opinons in Religion 2. The Difference of the Case between the Separation of the Protestants from the Church of Rome and the Separation of Dissenters from the Church of England 3. A Discourse about the Charge of Novelty upon the Reformed Church of England made by the Papists asking us the Question Where was our Religion before Luther 4. The Protestant Resolution of Faith being an Answer to Three Questions I. How far we must depend on the Authority of the Church for the true Sence of Scripture II. Whether a visible Succession from Christ to this day makes a Church which has this visible Succession an Infallible Interpreter of Scripture and whether no Church which has not this visible Succession can teach the true Sence of Scripture III. Whether the Church of England can make out such a visible Succession 5. A Discourse concerning a Guide in matters of Faith with Respect especially to the Romish pretence of the Necessity of such a one as is Infallible 6. A Discourse about Tradition shewing what is meant by it and what Tradition is to be Recieved and what Tradition is to be Rejected 7. A Discourse concerning the Unity of the Catholick Church maintained in the Church of England 8. A Discourse concerning the Necessity of Reformation with respect to the Errours and Corruptions of the Church of Rome In two Parts 9. A Discourse concerning the Object of Religious Worship or a Scripture-Proof of the Unlawfulness of giving any Religious Worship to any other Being besides the one Supreme God 10. A Discourse against Transubstantiation 11. A Discourse concerning the Adoration of the Host as it is Taught and Practised in the Church of Rome Wherein an Answer is given to T. G. on that Subject and to Monsieur Bocleau's late Book de Adoratione Eucharistioe Paris 1685. 12. A Discourse concerning Invocation of Saints 13. A Discourse concerning the Devotions of the Church of Rome 14. A Discourse concerning the Celebration of Divine Service in an Unknown Tongue 15. A Discourse concerning Auricular Confession as it is Prescribed by the Council of Trent and Practised in the Church of Rome With a Postscript on occasion of a Book lately printed in France called Historia Confessionis Auricularis 16. A Discourse concerning the Worship of the Blessed Virgin and the Saints with an Account of the Beginnings and Rise of it amongst Christians In Answer to Monsieur de Meaux's Appeal to the Fourth Age in his Exposition and his Pastoral Letter A Collection of Cases and other Discourses lately written to recover Dissenters to the Communion of the Church of England by some Divines of the City of London In two Volumes in Quarto