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SECT. IV.

Invocation of Saints.

Here are two great Objections against that Worship, which the Church of Rome gives to Saints departed, who now reign with Chrift in Heaven, as the Council of Trent teaches. 1. That it is to give them that Religious Worship, which is due only to God. 2. That it makes them our Mediators and Interceffors in Heaven,which is an Honour peculiar to Christ. Now M. de Meaux, and after him, the Author of the Character, think to remove these Objections, only by explaining the Doctrine of their Church about this matter; and I fhall diftinctly confider, what they say to each of these.

1. As for the firft, That in praying to Saints they do not give them that worship, which is due only to God, they think is evident from hence, That the Council of Trent and the Catechifm ad Parochos teaches them only,to pray to Saints to pray for them: The Bishop takes great pains to prove this to be the fenfe of the Council, and therefore, that in what terms foever those Prayers,which we addrefs to Saints, are couched, the Intention of the Church, and of her Faithful, reduces them always to this Form. Now I will not difpute this matter at prefent, but refer my Reader to the Answer to a Papist misrepresented.

But let us fuppofe,that this is all the Church of Rome intends by it, that we fhould only pray to the Saints to pray for us, what advantage can they make of this? Yes, fays the Advertifement before the Bishop's Expofition,p.12. To pray to Saints only to pray for us, is a kind of Prayer, which by its own nature, is fo far from being referved by an Independent Being to himself, it can never be addreffed to him: That is, we mult never pray to God to pray for us; and therefore fuch a Prayer is no part of that Worship, which is due to God. And he adds, If this Form of Prayer, pray for us,diminished the truft we have in God, it would be no lefs condemnable to use it to the Living than to the Dead; and St. Paul would not have said so often, Brethren, pray for us : the whole Scripture is full of Prayers of this nature. Thus the AuIn this, he does not at all negPapift mifre- thor of the Character, tells us. prefented, p.3. lect coming to God, or rob him of his honour, but directing all his Prayers

Ed. 2.

Prayers up to him, and making him the ultimate Object of all his Pe titions, He only defires fometimes the just on Earth, fometimes thofe in Heaven to joyn their Prayers to his, that fo the number of Petitioners being increased, the Petition may find better acceptance in the fight of God: and this is not to make them Gods, but only Petitioners to God: He having no hopes of obtaining any thing, but of God alone.

This is the leaft that can poffibly be made of that Worship, they give to Saints, which is not reconcileable with theirpra ctice neither; and if it should appear,that this (as little as it is thought to be) is to give that Worhip to Creatures, which is due to God,they must e'en reject praying to Saints to pray for them, as they now do trusting in their aid and affiftances, and power to keep them

Now I only ask, whether Prayer be not an Act of Religion, and a worship due to God? if it be not, why do they pray to God? if it be, then they give the worship of God to Saints, when they pray to them. For it is not fo much, the matter of our Prayer, as the nature of Prayer, which makes it an Act of Religion. We may pray to God for those things, which men can give, viz. Food and Raiment, and yet thefe are as religious prayers as when we ask fuch things of God, as none can give but himself; and by the fame reason, though we pray to Saints only to do that for us, which a creature can do, that is,only to pray to God for us, yet our very praying to them is an Act of religious worship, which is due only to God.

The truth is,I am so dull,that I cannot fee,what makes these new Reformers of the Roman-Catholick Doctrine and Worfhip,fo shy of owning any other aid and assistance, which they expect from the Saints, but only their prayers for them: for this. makes no alteration at all in the nature of that worship, they pay to them. For fuppofe the Saints in Heaven (who now reign with Christ, as the Council affirms) were intruited with the Guardianship of men, and the care of Saints on Earth, asi Cardinal Bellarmine exprefly says they are;might we not as law- Bellarm. de fully pray to them to imploy that power, God has committed fanct beatit. to them, for our good and happiness, as to ufe their intereft 1. 1. c. 20. 85 with God for us by their prayers? Does one exalt you more a. c. 18. bove the condition of creatures than the other? May we not beg our Friends on Earth,to relieve our wants and neceffities,as well as to pray for us? And if begging the prayers of our Friends

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on Earth will justifie our praying to the Saints in Heaven, to pray for us; our asking an Alms on Earth, will equally justifie our begging the aid and affiftance, as well as prayers, of the Saints in Heaven; and then we are juft where we were. And if ever there were any good Arguments against praying to Saints, they are all good ftill, though they pray to Saints only to pray for them: which is my only business at prefent, to fhew (according to the Bishop's defire) that his Explication leaves all the Objections in full force, and all the Disputes untouched..

So that fetting aside the matter of our prayers, or what it is we ask, which makes no alteration in this cafe, the inquiry is, Whether when we pray to Saints, we do not give that wor fhip to them, which is peculiar and appropriate to God?

Now the Church of Rome,is fo far from thinking fuch prayers to be the peculiar worship due to God, that she thinks it as innocent to pray to the Saints in Heaven to pray for us, as it is to defire the prayers of our Christian Brethren on Earth. The Bishop fays, 1 be Church in teaching us, that it is profitable to pray to Saints, teaches us to pray to them in the fame fpirit of Charity, and according to the fame order of fraternal Society, which moves us to demand affiftance of cur Brethren living on Earth. The Character to the fame purpose makes our defiring fometimes the Saints on Earth, fometimes thofe in Heaven, to joyn their prayers with ours, to be Actions of the very fame nature, and equally lawful. This is the true Pinch of the Controverfie, and here it is we part with the Church of Rome; that we think, there is fome difference between fpeaking to our Chriftian Brethren on Earth, whom we fee, and converse with, and praying to the Saints in Heaven, with all the external expreffions of religious worship and adoration: The firft is to converfe with them as men; the fecond is fuch a manner of Addreís,as is proper only for a God.

To pray to Saints is fomewhat more than to defire our Chriftian Friends to pray for us; it is fupplicitèr eos invocare, as the Council of Trent speaks, to invoke them,or call on them,in the manner of Supplicants; fo that this must be acknowledged a worship of the Saints; and then it must be either a civil or religious worship; and which of these two it is, must be known by the manner of paying it. And therefore when all the cir cumftances of worship are religious, we must acknowledge the worship to be religious too: Such as praying to them in religi ous Places,in Churches and Chappels,and at confecrated Altars, with

with bended knees, and hands and eyes lifted up, in a very de vout manner, when they fee no body to speak to, or to receive their Addresses, unless it be the Image of the Saint they worfhip. This fome Nations worship their Gods, but no People ever paid their civil refpects to each other in this manner.

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But as I obferved in my Reply (p. 66.) There is one infallible diftinction between civil and religious worship, between the worship of God and men: That the worship of the invisible Inhabitants of the other World has always been accounted religions worship. Civil reSpects are confined to this World, as all natural and civil Relations, which are the foundation of civil refpects, are; but we have no intercourse with the other World, but what is religious. And therefore as the different kinds and degrees of civil honour, are diftinguished by the Sight of the Object, to which they are paid, though the external acts and expreffions are the fame, as when men bow the body, and are uncovered, you know what kind of honour it is by feeing, who is prefent, whether their Father, their Friend, or their Prince, or fome other Honourable Perfen: So the most certain mark of distinction between civil and religious worship is this, that the one relates to this World, the other to the invisible Inhabitants of the next. In this laft Paragraph the Protefter fays (p.35.) We have a Confequence and Comparison, and both fo excellent in their kinds, that if any ter connexion can be found in them,then between the Monument and the May-pole, it must be by one, who has found one trick more in Logick, than ever Ariftotle knew. Sometimes indeed Aristotle's Logick does not do fuch feats,as one would expect, but a little natural Logick, called common fenfe,would have fhewed him the connexion. For I think, there is fome fence in saying, that as the different degrees of civil honour, though most of the external figns of honour be the fame, fuch as kneeling, bowing the body, uncovering the head, may yet be diftinguished by the prefence of the Object, to which it is paid; whether it be our Father, or our Prince: So though the external.figns of civil and. religious honour, are in many instances the fame, yet civili and religious worship may be visibly distinguished, by the object to which it is given: For civil worship can belong only to the Inhabitants of this World; but whatever worship is given to the invisible Inhabitants of the other World, is religious..

Now if this be fo, then to pray to Saints,now. they are removed out of this World into an invisible state, is to give religious worship to them; which makes a vaft difference between praying

Papifts Proteft. p. 33.

praying to the Saints in Heaven to pray for us, and speaking to our fellow-Chriftians on Earth to pray for us.

The Protefter is willing to grant, or at least suppose, that the honour or worship,which is given to the invifible Inhabitants of the other World,is religious worship; but still he fays, it remains to be proved, that all religious refpect and honour is so a divine honour,as to make a God of the thing, to which it is paid, at leaft constructively: This I think,is no hard matter to do; but I fhall first confider his Arguments against it, and all that he says, is, That if it be true,it proves too much,and will bring my self in for a fhare with them, in giving religious worship to creatures, and fo making Gods of them, at leaft conftructively. He instances in that Cuftom of bowing to the Altar, or Communion Table, as he calls it, and bowing at the name of Fefus; but this shall be confidered, when I come to the worship of Images. His other inftances concern that religious respect, which we allow due to facred places and things,and a religious decency to the bodys of Saints and Martyrs; but what is this to a religious worship. The respect we fhew to fuch things and places, is no more than a civil refpect, which confifts in a decent ufage,in feparating them from vile and common purposes; and it is called a religious refpect, not from the nature of the refpect, but from the reason, why we give it,viz. out of reverence to God,to whofe worship they are feparated. Thus that love and honour we pay to a living Saint, though it rife no higher than the expreflions of a civil respect, may be faid to be religious, when we love and honour them for God's fake; but this is an external denomination from the Cause and Motive, not from the nature of the Act, and therefore cannot make Gods of them,because it is not religious worship;but to give proper religious worship to any Being, is to give it that worship, which is proper only to God, which is the only way to make any Being a God, which is not a God.

Now if this be a true notion, that all worship, which is given to the invifible Inhabitants of the other World,is religious worship,I will easily prove,that we muft worship no other invisible Being, but God alone, and therefore cannot pray to Saints in Heaven, without giving the worship of God to them.

And my reafon is this, Because God challenges all religious worship to himself; as our Saviour tells us, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only fhalt thon ferve, Matth. 4. It seems to me a very needlefs difpute, what is the peculiar aud incom

municable