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Show A &afonabl~ Cq:11eat ttgainft PoPERY. VoL. I. tJ.ffcOionate P6jjiont, tmd v'olttntpry Hu"!i.tie~, .of.a Sort of Ptopk, ~hofe Judg111ent goef a/wayt in tbp Rear of tlmr JifJlO,ons, anJ tbttt make Jbe1T Re~ lig,ion 1'1[ SFJ#liu!t!mPComplcment.r. . Po11rrhly, BU11ldt!ny tho.r they have the Natu~e of ~rayer m ... them, and therefore the. Peopte :ue almoft as much to feek m thetr O":n Language, as a {hange one. Ptaycr is tlu Gift of. God; no Man can he fatd r.o pray, who tas not, F~rft, A deep Senfe of hts ow~ Wams: Second, pr the Reaf?n· atllenefs oP the l'hiJ>g prayed for' Tlmd, Enough of Faah to obraJn, }'ourth, A due Reverence of that God, to whof!I h.e makes hts Sup~llcarion; For the Prayers of 1he Wicked are a~ Abomm.at.l07t to t he Lord, ~ays rhe Di\'ine \Vrit (or are no Prayers at all_m a rel1g~ous Senfe) But 1f thefe Books of Devotion v:ere Pr~rycrs, then tfllgbt the WJCked tU u·elJ pra;; '!ltbe Righteous; fOr the Prayer iS cquafly e~pofed to the ufe of. both. '!1s not Words make rhe Prayer; whe.reforc f:nd the Apoftle, ! r.t'JIJ P':ttY ttmh ~he 'Spirit (rfiere is the moft en:-ennal Pa.rt of Prayer, b~t rh1s he m1g_ht do wuh 110ne but himfe\f§) and I tiJ/11 pray rvttb Underflandmg aifo(by th1s he meant not in an unknown T-ongue) It was the Subieft of his Difcourfe in his four~ teenth Chapter in his firft Epiftle to the Corinthitms, But the Cb11rch of Rome ba1 otberr.oife leanst, tban bad that good .Apoflle. In !bart, \Ve need the lefs wonder, at thC unparrallell'd Vi1Jany, which reigns throughout the Papacy, when we confider how Cardinal a Practice it is for the People not to tiRderfltmd how to be better: Their late Profelytes .forg~t, or elfe ne\•er heard, bow criminal it WIU to bave an Englilh Tcflamenr about One Htmdred and Fifty Years jince. But rarher than not, the PttpiHr wiU turn Ha!f~Proteflmtts, to fetch back Proteftants to be «hole Papifis ng11i11. But fuch might dcferve to be b~d. had they but as much of Religion, a1 Jo!lletimes 'Fools ufe to bavt of Eflau. What (hall I fay? They arc fit to believe any Thing, whofe Debaucheries have hardened them againft any Belitf: when Sin hal banijht aU Ftar of God, Interefl jleps in it's Place; and that Religion, which molt promotes ir, muft with fuch be the heft, wherein ~he' Papifl has only the Advant·age of all orhers upon Earth. The Report of Antiquity, and their own Prallice. However in Froteftant Countries, they :ue wi11ing to bring their Devotl• on into vulgar Langu::tges; yet that ic's Matter of Neceffiry, and not of Choice, view lMiy, Franu, Sp,zin, &c. where they retain their Latin Scr~ vice, as beneficial to the People, which is a Language that generally they underftand not. Prigen was again!! it, lib, 8. cont. Celr. Co Cbryfojl. Hom. 1. in 8. Johln. .Jiltg_.u!l de doc.t. Chrifii 'ap. ). A11JbroJe upon I Cor. 14. Thus alfo their own boil.ors; Aquin. in 1 Cor. 14- Ca.Jfander Liturg. cap. 18. fa that they err from ~criptua, Fat1Jcrs, and their own DoOors. VIII. Of Prayer for the Dead. :Papift. ouR Fttitb teaches tiS to exercife Chrijli11n Charity, by h11mbling our felves before the Divine TIJrone of God's Mercy, to beg For~ given_efr of tbc Debtt·and TreJ}a.Jfu of tbofe rniddle Sort of ChriflittnJ (as .lluflm, and the Council of Florence call them) who bad not brought forth fufficient Fruitr of Repentance, dying in the Communion of tbe FiJithful';._ Which indigent Condition of rhein, relievable by th( Cb11rches, or the Prn)ers of the FsitbfulfurvivitJg, Jjeaks what tbe .ilncirnts call PHrgtllolj. . A:nfw. How much the Romijh Faith, teacheth the Holders of it, to exet· cife Chriftian Charity, the .il!arryrolo:ier of thefe Thoufand Ye:us may teftifie. Bot tbey would have you know, they don't inundjucb Perj0111 111 . n·ert, VoL. I. A Seafonable Caveat againfl PoPERY: 479 were aflive_ in tbofe b/oo.ly Ma.Jfacrcs : /or the .(inglc 111e_rit of their horrid 167o. ]tlurders u JupererogatQry, or tllorc than Jufficunt to deliver tbemfrom tbe ~ j_'ery Furnace of a de~nfing Purg~rory: ~hey took a fhorter cut. to Heaven; for jnficad of tra vellmg the maw Conttnenr, They (blown wah the frefh Gale of t heir own Cruelty) fayl'd through the main 5.ea of Protejlam~B/ood. But what Authorities have thefe Men for their ACI"ertion? Fir!t, St. Au· jfin; 3nd Secondly, The Cauncil of Florence. To rhefe I will fpeak in the (.)ofe of this Head. Are thefe all? No, for fays he, . Papil,t. (We are) Warranted herein, hy the Prallice under the Uw, record· ed in the Maccabees, Whicb being in no fort reprehended by o11r Lord, or bis .Apofiles, amo"gfl the Refl of the Jews unlawfUl PNflicet, wtU and is jufl" Jy prtfumed to h11ve been allowed by himJ tU mqny of t be Fathers underjlood bim, hs the Mounr1 and by them, 4s is hznted by St. PJul; tobere~pon it barb been continued ever jince, or even Gfave·StO!Its, and ttO otberCbrijtian .Alom1"'. menu do wit nej1. Anfw. I rl)uft confefs I do not wonder that fo little Reafon fhould induce a Romanijl to believe, than which, nothing fCares him more. But I cannot otherwiie than Admire, that any Proteftant fhould make fuch poor In fiances a ground of his Return to PopcrJ. Firf1, His Srory of the Maccabees is nor cited, nor does he very plainly refer us . Secondly, He knO\ys the Protejltmts deny ir the Credit due to other Scrip-' tures, and the Papifls cannot but be confcious tO themfelves of Infufficiency to prove its eanon. . - , Thirdly 'Tis pre pofieroufly ft11y to fay, that becaufe Chrift did not par~ ticutarly condemn the Pra8ice oj praying for the Dead, (fuggefted to h::tve lJeen ufed by the .Morc(lbces) th,erefore it was a laudable Cuftom ; fince l. may with equal Reafon argue, that becaufe Chrift never mentioned the Maccaheu, nor did particularly own the C:mon of their Writings, therefore there wtu no_fuch People, and their Wt·itings (if any) of no .Autbority. Fourthly, The Father's Senfe (if theiors)of tbefe Scriptures, ft!at. ). 29. · 1 Cor. 15. 29. muft needs be Non·Senfe in the Abftrafl, with all but Plpifts, who notorioufly deny themfelves the Ufe of Senfe \ altho, I am of Opinion, the Fathers are much abufed by the Authoi of this Confeffion, or tlfewe fhould have had their Names in Capitals; however, we will com· pa1e thefe Paffages with this Opinion. Firfi, Jfthy right·Eye offend t.bec, pl~tck it out, and cajf it [ro111 tbee,for it'j' profitable f or (}lee, tbr~t oneo/tby .iHef1ben jho11id pcrijh, and not tbnt tby whole Body ./ho11id hc~cafl into HeD·Fire, Mat. 5· 29· • Erto wb«t? that there Ua P11rgatory after tbts ~ife (fays the Romanift) 0 l Stupendious Fqlly: and Weakoefs; is there a.1,1y Thing plainer, than that Chrilt p.reacht a pr~fent praaical Doarine? as that which ftood every Man upon in [his World, viz. The Denial of his Lufls, and Circumcifion of bir Corruptions. In fhon,jince Cbrijl WIU i" the TVorld, and wbenJpakc it; fince it WI'U to People in tfJe World, and a Work tlmt lobe Jet about; it is moft evi· dent t7Je Pa,Dage btU no Relation to a State ofur this Life (I mean for Purgll· (jon) Nay, rhe ftronge~ Argument that is well conceive::~ble for tile contra a ry, may eafily he deduced from hence. For if jN?h a-r pluck nfJt out their 1 Eyes he}';, (t hiu ir, purj.e not t!Je»Jfelvu of the1r Jniqmtier, by unfeigned Repentance)fha!J be CtJjf into HcU.Pirc, then there is no middle State caU~d P11rgnt,"ory, Our that fu,[J Perf.ans tU pluck not out tbeir right EJl.r (char 1,:;) morrifi~JJottl)eir Mlf(llbers OJ CorrupJion here, (lr:r to be cafl imoHtti·Fire, The Text provu: therefore there uno middle State; the contrary, ofHca· ven. ll'lU be affirmed, for Comrariw·lfm eadem e/l Ratio. Sec~11-dly. J$Jfe, ,wbat.fha0 tbey ~o tbat are bapti;ed fort be Dead? If rhe Dead rife HO,., at a/Iii., why arc tf¥:y t/Jen Oapr.i;;edftJr the Dead? I Cor. I) • 29This Scripture is as much to his Purpofe" the former, 'and were I rlor ufcd |
