This is the sum of the doctrine, concerning the manner of saying the Divine offices in the church of Rome; in which greater care is taken to obey the precept of the church than the commandments of God: for the precept of hearing mass is not, to intend the words, but to be present at the sacrifice, though the words be not so much as heard; and they that think the contrary, think so without any probable reason," saith Tolet f. It seems there was not so much as the authority of one grave doctor to the contrary; for if there had, the contrary opinion might have been probable; but all agree upon this doctrine, all that are considerable. So that between the church of England and the church of Rome, the difference in this article is plainly this: They pray with their lips, we with the heart; we pray with the understanding, they with the voice; we pray, and they say prayers. We suppose that we do not please God, if our hearts be absent; they say, it is enough if their bodies be present at their greatest solemnity of prayer, though they hear nothing that is spoken, and understand as little. And which of these be the better way of serving God, may soon be determined, if we remember the complaint which God made of the Jews, "This people draweth near me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me:" but we know, that we are commanded to "ask in faith," which is seated in the understanding, and requires the concurrence of the will, and holy desires; which cannot be at all, but in the same degree in which we have a knowledge of what we ask. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man prevails:" but what our prayers want of this, they must needs want of blessing and prosperity. And if we lose the benefit of our prayers, we lose that great instrumentality by which Christians are receptive of pardon, and strengthened in faith, and confirmed in hope, and increase in charity, and are protected by Providence, and are comforted in their sorrows, and derive help from God: "Ye aşk, and have not, because ye ask amiss," that is St. James's rule. They that pray not as they ought, shall never obtain what they fain would. Hither is to be reduced their fond manner of prayer, consisting in vain repetitions of names, and little forms of words. f Ibid. n. 6. The Psalter of our lady is an hundred and fifty Ave Maries, and, at the end of every tenth, they drop in the Lord's prayer; and this, with the creed at the end of the fifty, makes a perfect rosary. This, indeed, is the main entertainment of the people's devotion; for which cause Mantuan called their religion, Religionem, Quæ filo insertis numerat sua murmura baccis, a religion that numbers their murmurs by berries filed upon a string:" this makes up so great a part of their religion, that it may well be taken for one half of its definition. But because so few do understand what they say, but all repeat, and stick to their numbers, it is evident they think to be heard for that. For that or nothing; for, besides that, they neither do or understand: and all that we shall now say to it is, that our blessed Saviour reproved this way of devotion, in the practice and doctrines of the heathens: very like to which is that which they call the Psalter of Jesus, in which are fifteen short ejaculations, as "Have mercy on me, strengthen me, help me, comfort me," &c.; and with every one of these, the name of Jesus is to be said thirty times, that is, in all, four hundred and fifty times. Now we are ignorant how to distinguish this from βαττολογία, orvain repetition' of the Gentiles: for they did just so, and Christ said, they did not do well: and that is all that we pretend to know of it. They thought to be heard the rather for so doing; and if the people of the Roman church do not think so, there is no reason why they should do so. But without any further arguing about the business, they are not ashamed to own it. For the author of the preface to the Jesus-Psalter, printed by Fowler at Antwerp, promises to the repetition of that sweet name, "Great aid against temptations, and a wonderful increase of grace." 8 Ohe, jam desine Deos, uxor, gratulando obtundere; Ut nihil credas intelligere, nisi idem dictum est centies. Heautontim. act v. scene 1. Priestley's edit. vol. i. p. 648. SECTION VIII. BUT this mischief is gone further yet: for, as Cajetan affirms, "Prayers ought to be well done; saltem non malè,'' at least not ill."" But, besides that what we have now remarked is so 'not well,' that it is very ill; that which follows, is directly bad, and most intolerable. For the church of Rome, in her public and allowed offices, prays to dead men and women, who are, or whom they suppose to be, beatified; and these they invocate as preservers, helpers, guardians, deliverers in their necessity; and they expressly call them "their refuge, their guard and defence, their life and health;" which is so formidable a devotion, that we, for them, and for ourselves too, if we should imitate them, are to dread the words of Scripture," Cursed is the man that trusteth in man." are commanded to "call upon God in the time of trouble;" and it is promised, "that he will deliver us, and we shall glorify him." We find no such command to call upon saints; neither do we know who are saints, excepting a very few; and in what present state they are, we cannot know, nor how our prayers can come to their knowledge; and yet if we did know all this, it cannot be endured at all, that Christians, who are commanded to call upon God, and upon none else, and to make all our prayers through Jesus Christ,' and never so much as warranted to make our prayers through saints departed,' should yet choose saints for their particular patrons, or at all rely upon them, and make prayers to them in such forms of words, which are only fit to be spoken to God; prayers which have no testimony, command, or promise, in the Word of God, and, therefore, which cannot be made in faith or prudent hope. Neither will it be enough to say, that they only desire the saints to pray for them; for though that be of itself a matter indifferent, if we were sure they do hear us when we pray, and that we should not, by that means, secretly destroy our confidence in God, or lessen the honour of Christ our Advocate; of which because we cannot be sure, but much rather b Jerem. xvii. 5. a Summa Cajetan. v. Oratio. Psal. cxv. 9. and xlvi. 3. and cxviii. 8. and 1. 15. Heb. iv. 16. Matt. xi. 28. John, vi, 37. the contrary, it is not a matter indifferent: yet besides this, in the public offices of the church of Rome, there are prayers to saints made with confidence in them, with derogation to God's glory and prerogative, with diminution to the honour of Christ, with words in sound, and, in all appearance, the same with the highest that are usually expressed in our prayers to God, and his Christ: and this is it we insist upon, and reprove, as being a direct destruction of our sole confidence in God, and too near to blasphemy to be endured in the devotions of Christians. We make our words good by these allegations: 1. We shall not need here to describe, out of their didactical writings, what kind of prayers, and what causes of confidence they teach towards the blessed Virgin Mary and all saints only we shall recite a few words of Antoninus, their great divine, and archbishop of Florence: "It is necessary that they, to whom she converts her eyes, being an advocate for them, shall be justified and saved." And whereas it may be objected out of John, that the apostle says, "If any sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:"-he answers, "That Christ is not our Advocate alone, but a judge: and since the just is scarce secure, how shall a sinner go to him, as to an Advocate ? Therefore God hath provided us of an advocatess, who is gentle and sweet, in whom nothing that is sharp, is to be found." And to those words of St. Paul, "Come boldly to the throne of Grace; "he says,-" That Mary is the throne of Christ, in whom he rested; to her, therefore, let us come with boldness, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in time of need;" and adds, that "Mary is called 'full of grace,' because she is the means and cause of grace, by transfusing grace to mankind;" and many other such dangerous propositions of which who please to be further satisfied, if he can endure the horror of reading blasphemous sayings, he may find too great abundance in the Mariale' of Bernardine, which is confirmed by public authority,-Jacobus Perez de Valentia, and in Ferdinand Quirinus de Salazar, who affirms, "That the Virgin Mary, by offering up Christ to Sum. part. 4. tit. 15. d 1 Jo. c. ii. 1, 2. e Bernardin. de Bastis, de Concept. Mariæ. 1. part. serm. 1. part. 2. f In Cantic. Mar. Magnificat. Comment. in Proverb. viii. 18. . God the Father, was worthy to have, after a certain manner, that the whole salvation and redemption of mankind should be ascribed to her; and that this was common to Christ and the blessed Virgin his mother, that she did offer and give the price of our redemption, truly and properly; and that she is deservedly called the redeemer, the repairer, the mediator, the author, and cause of our salvation." Many more horrid blasphemies are in his notes upon that chapter; and in his Defence of the Immaculate Conception, published with the privilege of Philip III. of Spain, and by the authority of his order. But we insist not upon their doctrines delivered by their great writers, though every wise man knows that the doctrines of their church are delivered in large and indefinite terms, and descend not to minute senses, but are left to be explicated by their writers, and are so practised and understood by the people; and, at the worst, the former doctrine of probability will make it safe enough: but we shall produce the public practice of their church. And first, it cannot be supposed, that they intend nothing' but to desire their prayers; for they rely also on their merits, and hope to get their desires, and to prevail by them also: for so it is affirmed by the Roman catechism, made by the decree of the council of Trent, and published by the pope's command: "The saints are, therefore, to be invocated, because they continually make prayers for the health of mankind, and God gives us many benefits by their merit and favour: and it is lawful to have recourse to the favour or grace of the saints, and to use their help; for they undertake the patronage of us." And the council of Trent' does not only say it is good to fly " to their prayers, but to their aid and to their help;" and that is indeed the principal and the very meaning of the other. We pray that the saints should intercede for us, "id est, ut merita eorum nobis suffragentur;" "that is, that their merits should help us," said the master of the sentences. Atque id confirmat ecclesiæ praxis," to use their own so frequent expression in many cases. 66 Continet hoc templum sanctorum corpora pura, A quibus auxilium suppleri, poscere cura. This distich is in the church of St. Laurence, in Rome. h Tit. de Sanctis. VOL. X. i Sess. 9. Q |