Faith Grounded Upon the Holy Scriptures Against the New Methodists, Part 3 · Chapter 9 – Chapter 10
CHAP. IX. That praying to Saints departed, is not taught in the Scriptures.
1. LEt us now conſider of praying to the Saints departed, for which there is found neither Command nor Example in all the Writings of the Old and New Teſtaments; and they alledge for its foundation nothing but paſſages very far fetched; as for example, that wch Jacob ſaid being upon his death-bed, Let my name be called upon theſe Children, Gen. 48.16.that is, upon Ephraim and Manaſſeh, which is not a Command to invoke him after his death, but a declaration by which he adopts them, willing that they might be called by his name as if they had been his proper Children, as all the Learned party of our Adverſaries confeſs, Nic. d'Lyra, Pintus, Eman. Sa, Pagnin, Arias Montauus, and 'tis the ſame manner of ſpeaking which is found in Eſai. in the fourth Chapter, where he brings in women which ſay to a man, Iſai. 4.1.only let thy name be called upon us.
Secondly, But ſay they, the faithful under the Old Teſtament, make mention of the Saints departed in the prayers which they put up to God, Have remembrance of Abraham, Exod. 32.13.Iſaac, and Iſrael thy ſervants, to whom thou haſt ſworn by thy ſelf, ſaying, I will multiply your ſeed as the Stars in Heaven. We do not deny that it was permitted them to produce to the Lord the Promiſes which he made to their Fathers, as it is lawful for us to put him in minde of that which he hath done for us in Jeſus Chriſt, of which theſe firſt were the figures. But the queſtion is, whether we may, and ought to addreſs theſe prayers to deceaſed Saints, which cannot be drawn from this allegation by any good reaſon.
Thirdly, Moreover, Mat. 22.30.they diſcourſe thus: Our Lord teacheth us that the Saints departed are as the Angels of God in Heaven; Gen. 48.15.now Jacob invoked an Angel: It is then permitted us to invoke the Saints. A feeble, a pitiful reaſoning. For firſt, the Lord ſpeaks of the ſtate of Saints after the Reſurrection; and the Queſtion is of the condition they are in now before the Reſurrection. Secondly, The Lord compares them to Angels, not generally and in reſpect of all the conditions of their beings (for upon this account they muſt conclude they will have no bodies after the Reſurrection, ſince the Angels have none) but only in reſpect of theſe things, viz that they will not marry, Maldon. upon this paſſage.as St. Jerom, and after him the Jeſuit Maldonat remarks; in the Reſurrection (ſaith the Lord) they ſhall neither marry, nor be given in marriage, but ſhall be as the Angels of God in Heaven. And as to the Angel which Jacob invoked, who knows not that 'tis the Angel of the Covenant, Mal. 3.1. Gen. 48. 15, 16.the eternal Son of God. The God (ſaith he) before whom my fathers Abraham and Iſaac have walked, the God who fed me from my youth to this day, Cyril. Alex. Theſaur. l. 3.the Angel who hath defended me from evil bleſs theſe Children: St. Cyril of Alexandria hath ſo amply defended this truth againſt the Arians, who would (as our Adverſaries at this time) bend theſe words to a created Angel, which we have no need to inſiſt upon any longer to clear.
Fourthly, They argue again thus; We pray the faithful living here below with us to pray to God for us, as St. Paul commanded the Romans, Rom. 15.30. Coll. 4.3.1. Eph. 6.9. 1 Theſ. 5.25. 2 Theſ. 3.1 1. Heb. 13.18.the Epheſians, the Coloſſians, the Theſſalonians, and the Hebrews; and therefore why ſhould not we demand the ſame office of the Saints departed? But firſt, who ſeeth not that although this reaſon ſhould be pertinent, it always concludes much leſs than that they would have it: for it hints only, that it behoveth to pray to the departed Saints, as S. Paul prayed the Romans, & the other faithful whilſt they lived. Now he prayed them only to pray to God for him. He did not kneel down before them although abſent, to make this requeſt to them, he erected no Statues to them, he conſtituted no Images to them, he did not proſtrate himſelf before their Repreſentations; nor did he offer them lighted Tapers, or make Vows to them; nor did he pray them to command our Redeemer to defend him againſt the Enemy, to receive him at the hour of his death, and to heal the inaladies of his nature, nor is there any wiſe Chriſtian that will do or demand ſuch things of a living man; upon this account it will follow that all the Prayers where our Adverſaries demand theſe things of the Saints departed are unlawful, their own Reaſons (as much eſteemed as they are) permits them only to require the Saints to pray to God for them. But in the ſecond place who ſeeth not the extreme impertinence of this diſcourſe? We pray the living Saints to pray to God for us, we may then uſe the ſame towards them that are dead? I pray you what is it that gives them ground to argue ſo? What! is there not a difference between theſe two? we ſee the one, we ſpeak to them, and hear the anſwers they make to our requeſts; whereas the other are ſeparated from us by a great and almoſt infinite diſtance, without being able to know for certain whether they hear any of our words, without having any mutual and reciprocal commerce with them. We do not doubt, that as we thank God for their happineſs, they pray for ours, wiſhing the triumph of the Church which they know fights yet, upon the earth under the Enſigne of their Chriſt. But 'tis to mock the world to conclude from hence, that we may and ought to ſpeak to them as we do to perſons here below which are of our acquaintance. That which Eliſha knew by the revelation of God concerning what his Servant Gehazi had done being abſent, 2 King. 5.16.and Daniel that which Nebuchadnezzar had dreamt. Dan. 2.19. Acts 12.34.And St. Peter what Ananias and Saphira had contrived, ſheweth, that the Lord can if he pleaſeth, diſcover the thoughts of our hearts, and the words of our mouths to the Saints who live in heaven (that which we have called in Queſtion) but not that he will, and doth it in effect, which is the point of this Queſtion, whereof we ought to be aſſured, to be able to addreſs our prayers to them. It cannot be proved by the knowledge which the Angels have of the repentance of ſinners. Luke 15.10. Heb. 1.14.For the Angels being miniſtring Spirits, which God ſends to ſerve becauſe of thoſe who ſhall receive the inheritance of Salvation, 'tis not ſtrange that they ſhould know that which happens to us; whereas we read not any thing like this of the Souls of the faithful that are deceaſed; Apoc. 14.but only that they reſt from their labours. And after all, although we ſhould be aſſured that the Saints ſhould underſtand us, there would always be indiſcretion in theſe prayers, ſince there is neither Command nor Example in the Scriptures for them. Joyn to this the evident peril we ſhould be put into by this practice, of giving to the Creature that which appertains to the Creator. For Nature hath her ſelf imprinted this Opinion in our hearts, that 'tis a divine thing to penetrate into the ſecrets of men, and to know what the abſent do and ſay, it is not poſſible for us to converſe with the Saints, whom we do not ſee, without allowing them a kinde of Divinity, as it appears but too much in the practice of the Adverſaries, the moſt part of whom, and above all thoſe of the minute people, praying to the Saints, have towards them incitements to devotion, and a reſpect altogether like that which they have to God, when they pray to him, But 'tis ſufficiently ſeen that this praying to deceaſed Saints cannot be proved by the Scriptures.
CHAP. X. That Veneration of Images is not Commanded in Scripture, nor any way taught there.
1. AS for their Images and thoſe of Jeſus Chriſt and the holy Virgin, it is ſtill much leſs poſſible to eſtabliſh the Veneration of them by Scripture, Exod. 25.18, 19, 20.ſince inſtead of Commanding it, they diſprove and forbid the ſervice of all Images and Repreſentations in general.
Nevertheleſs let us ſee what Rome alledgeth for this deſigne.
She then alledgeth the Cherubims which Moſes made to cover the forepart of the propitiatory, Numb. 21.8. 1 King. 6.32, 35. & 7.25, 29, 36.and the brazen Serpent which he lifted up in the Deſart, and the Cherubims, the Palmtrees, and the Buds of Flowers ſpread, which Solomon cauſed to be carved upon the Doors of the Temple, and the Molten Oxen upon which he ſet the Laver of Braſs, and the Figures of Lions and other Creatures with wch he inriched its Baſis. Tertull. ſtriking at Idolatry, Tertul. de Idolol. c. 5.in a Book which he hath expreſly made, objects the ſame thing in favour of them, who defended it, & reſolves the Queſtion learnedly according to his ordinary cuſtome. But to keep my ſelf to my buſineſs, what doth all this make for the veneration of Images? Firſt, they were not the Repreſentators of God, nor of any perſon whom he had imployed in any eminent Service of his Church. Secondly, Theſe Images were made, ſome for Types and ſacred Symbols, as the Cherubims of the Ark and the brazen Serpent, the others for the ornament and inriching of the Temple only, as the Palms, the Oxen, and the Lions of Solomon, none to be honoured and worſhipped, which was ſo contrary to the intention of theſe Divine men, that the people offering Incenſe to the brazen Serpent Hezekiah to ſtop the abuſe, 2 Kings 18, 4.made no ſcruple to break it in pieces. So all that one can lawfully conclude from the laſt part of this allegation is, not that it is permitted or allowed to kiſs the Images by devotion, to be uncovered and proſtrate before them, and to render them worſhip in honor to Chriſt and his Saints (which our Adverſaries think and practice) but that one may carve Pictures of Creatures and Flowers upon the Doors and other parts of the Temples to adorn and inrich them, Council of Trent D…utri. 2for which we never conteſted with any one. But for the Cherubims and the brazen Serpent, the inſtance they bring of it is quite out of our purpoſe. Firſt, becauſe that theſe Types have no place (any longer) in the Church, Jeſus Chriſt having cauſed the ſhadow to vaniſh by the true body which he hath publikely ſhewed. Secondly, becauſe God expreſly commanded Moſes that he ſhould do them; whereas he never ordained ſuch-like Images in the Roman Church. All that one can conclude from it, is, that ſince the Serpent made by the Command of God, was nevertheleſs broken by Hezekiah, when the people rendred to it a religious honour; it would be very convenient alſo that Chriſtian Princes and Biſhops ſhould take from Churches and publike places the Images of he and ſhe Saints, when men begin to worſhip them, though they were neaſted there, not only (as every one knows) by humane Authority, but Divine Inſtitution. But this Conſequence doth not favour their Veneration.