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to angels and faints; but do not injoin and require it. To this I anfwer two things.

(1.) In faying that it is lawful to pray to faints and angels, if they went no farther, they fay that which they can never make good; becaufe prayer is an act of religious worship, and peculiar and proper to God only, and therefore cannot be given to any creature, angel, or faint. This I have proved from fcripture, where our Saviour commands us, when we pray, to fay, Our Father which art in heaven; that is, to direct and addrefs our prayers to God only. And St. Paul likewife forbids the worshipping angels, by invocating of them, and making ufe of them as mediators between God and us, in his epiftle to the Coloffians; which Theodoret exprefsly interprets concerning the invocation of angels, and applying ourselves to them, as mediators and interceffors with God in heaven for us. And the council of Laodicea declares this practice to be idolatry. Befides that the ancient fathers of the Chriftian church, for above three hundred years, never fpake of praying to any but God only; and do exprefsly condemn the invocation of angels; much more of the faints, who are inferior to them and therefore they always define prayer to be an addrefs to God, a converfing and difcourfing with God; which would be a falfe definition of prayer, if it were lawful to pray to any but to God only. All which confidered, one may juftly wonder at the confidence of fome men, who would have it taken for granted, without any proof, that the invocation of faints and angels is lawful.

(2.) If it were true, that it is lawful to pray to angels and faints, it is not true, that the church of Rome does only declare it to be lawful, but does not require and injoin it, as fome of their late writers pretend.

With what face can this be faid, when there are fo many prayers to angels and faints, and efpecially to the bleffed virgin, in the publick offices of their church, in which all are fuppofed to join, as much as in the prayers which are put up to God by the priest? It is true, indeed, the people understand neither; but they are prefent at both, and join in both alike; that is, as much as men can be faid to join in that which they do not understand;

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as that church fuppofeth people may do, and receive great edification alfo, by joining with the priest in a fervice which they do not understand. But how they can be edified by what they do not understand, I must confefs myfelf as little able to understand, as they do their prayers. But whether they understand them or not, it is certain, that, if the people have any part in the publick prayers of the church, they are bound to pray to angels and faints.

And if the creed of Pope Pius IV. framed by virtue of an order of the council of Trent, be of any authority with them, one of the articles of it is, that "I do firm"ly hold, that the faints which reign together with "Chrift, are to be worshipped and invocated, and that "they do offer up prayers to God for us." And this creed all the governors of cathedrals and fuperior churches, and all who hold any dignity, or benefice, with cure of fouls from them, are bound folemnly to make profeffion of, and fwear to, and carefully to caufe it to be held, and taught, and preached by all that are under their charge; fo that they are to teach the people, "that the "faints which reign together with Chrift, are to be wor"fhipped and prayed to." And therefore, unless people are not bound to do that which they are to be taught it is their duty to do, they are, by virtue of this article, required to worship and pray to faints. And if the publick office of their church be the publick worship, and Pope Pius's creed the publick faith of the Romish church, no man can be either of the faith or in the communion of that church, who does not only hold it lawful, but his duty, to worship the faints in heaven, and to pray to them; and accordingly does join in the worthip of them, and prayers to them, as much as in any other part of divine fervice.

2dly, Another pretence for this doctrine and practice, is, that the faints in heaven do pray for us; and what is this but to be mediators and interceffors with God for us? and if fo, why may we not pray to them, to interceed with God for us? To this I anfwer four things. (1.) We do not deny, that the faints in heaven pray for us that are here upon earth; because they may do so, for any thing we know: but that they do fo, is more

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than can be proved, either by clear teftimony of fcripture, or by any convincing argument from reafon ; and therefore no doctrine or practice can be fafely grounded upon it.

(2.) Though it were certain, that the faints in heaven do pray for us; yet they are not mediators and interceffors, properly fo called: for all interceffion, strictly and properly fo called, is in virtue of a facrifice offered by him that interceeds: and therefore he only by whom expiation of fin is made upon earth, can be properly an interceffor with God in heaven. But this no angel or faint hath done, nor can do.

And, as I have fhewed in fome of the former difcourfes, it is the plain scope of a great part of the epiftle to the Hebrews to prove this very thing, that, under the gofpel, we have an high priest that lives for ever, and appears in the prefence of God for us, in the virtue of that blood which he fhed, and that facrifice which he offered upon the cross for the expiation of fin; and that by this high priest only we have accefs, with freedom and confidence, to the throne of grace; and by him do offer up all our prayers and thanksgivings, and all other acts of religious worship to God. And this the Apostle fhews was typified, in an imperfect manner, by the Jewish High Priest under the law, who was but one, and none but he only could enter into the holy of holies, with the blood of the facrifices that were flain and burnt without, by which blood he made an atonement, and interceeded for the people. And though every priest might pray for the people, and the people for one another, which is a kind of interceffion; yet that peculiar kind of interceffion, which was performed by the High Priest in the holy of holies, in virtue of the facrifice that was flain without, could not be made but by the High Prieft only. By all which was typified our High Prieft under the gofpel, who only hath made expiation of fin, the facrifice of himself, and is entered into heaven, to appear in the prefence of God for us, where he lives for ever to make interceffion for us, in virtue of that blood which was fhed for the expiation of fin, and which can only be prefented to God by him that fhed it. And this is properly interceffion, like that of the High Prieft under the law for the people of Ifrael:

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and this kind of interceffion can be made by none in heaven for us, but only by the high priest of our profeffion, Jefus the Son of God; and by none elfe can we offer up our prayers and fervices to God; and confequently we cannot address ourselves to any other, angels or faints, as mediators with God for us.

(3.) Suppofing it certain, that the faints do pray for us; yet we may not address folemn prayer to them to pray for us, because prayer and folemn invocation is a part of that religious worship which is peculiar to God.

(4.) Suppofing it not only certain, that the faints in heaven do pray for us, but likewife that they might be proper mediators and interceffors with God for us; yet we ought not to pray to them, because they cannot hear us; as I fhall have occafion to fhew fully by and by.

3dly, Another of their pretences or excufes for this practice, is, that praying to faints to pray for us, is no more than what we do to good men upon earth, when we defire them to pray for us. So the late expounder of the Catholick faith, namely, the Bishop of Meaux, tells us, that "they pray to the faints in heaven, in the "fame order of brotherly fociety with which we intreat our brethren upon earth to pray for us."

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But that this is not a true reprefentation either of their doctrine or practice in this matter, will appear by these following confiderations.

(1.) That they pray to the angels and faints in heaven, with the fame folemn circumftances of religious worfhip that they pray to God himself; in the fame place, and in the fame humble pofture, and in the fame religious offices and fervices, in which they pray to God; which furely is never done by any to their brethren upon earth.

(2.) That in their prayers and thanksgivings they join the angels, and the bleffed virgin, and the faints, together with God and Chrift; as if (to use their own phrafe) it were "in the fame order of brotherly focie

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ty," and as if they were all equally the objects of our invocation and praife; of which, in my last discourse, I gave feveral plain inftances: but this alfo is never done to our brethren upon earth.

(3.) That in the creed of Pope Pius IV. it is exprefs

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ly faid, that "the faints which reign together with Chrift, are to be worshipped and invocated;" but this furely they will not allow to be done to our brethren upon earth. And the council of Trent does exprefsly ground the worship and invocation of faints, upon their reigning with Chrift in heaven; and therefore this worship and invocation of faints muft neceffarily be fomething more, than "according to the fame order of brotherly fociety "with which we intreat our brethren upon earth to pray "for us:" otherwise the reafon given by the council, of "their reigning with Chrift in heaven," would be frivolous, if the fame thing may be done to "our brethren "6 upon earth."

(4.) In the publick offices of their church, they do not only pray to the faints to pray for them, but they direct their prayers and thanksgivings immediately to them, for all thofe bleffings and benefits which they afk of God, and thank him for. Of which innumerable examples might be given out of their publick offices; particularly in the office of the bleffed virgin, they pray to the angels thus: "Deliver us, we beseech you, by 66 your command, from all our fins."

And the words of the decree of the council of Trent, ad eorum orationes, opem, auxiliumque confugere, "to fly to "their prayers, aid, and help," unless we will make them a mere tautology, muft of neceffity fignify fomething more than begging of them to pray for us. And indeed thofe words of their aid and help, feem to be added on purpose to give countenance to thofe direct prayers which are made to the faints, for all fpiritual and temporal bleflings, and which still remain without any change in their publick offices: and unlefs we will understand them contrary to the plain and obvious fenfe of thofe prayers, they muft fignify fomething more than praying to the faints to pray for us.

It is true, indeed, that the catechifm which was framed by order of the council of Trent, for the explaining of their doctrines, makes the difference between their prayers to God, and to the faints, to lie in this, that " we fay to God, Have mercy on us, or, Hear our prayers; but to the faints, Pray for us." But I have fhewn before, that this is not the conftant form of pray

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