therefore, to the other characters of Pride and Intolerance, which he takes to herself with much complacency, fhe muft, now, be content (whether she will or no) to have a little more ferious in difcuffing an interpretation, which Sir Ifaac Newton adopts without fcruple [Obj on the prophecies of Daniel, &c. p. 192]; and which, in mere refpect to the prophet, he should, at least, have condefcended to replace by fome other and more reafonable interpretation. But it is the infirmity of this lively man, to be jocular out of feafon. Thus, again, he raillies Luther, for an affertion of his, delivered, it feems, with fome affurance, and, in the form, as he pretends, of a prediction, That the Papal power would Speedily decline and come to nothing, in confequence of the Reformation. The event, he fays, has belied the prophet; the Pope still keeps his ground; and then (in an unlucky parenthefis) laughs to think, how many others, befides Luther, will be dashed to pieces againft this STONE -bien d'autres, que Luther, fe briferont contre cette PIERRE [Var. 1. xiii. p. 244]. Now, if the glory of faying a good thing had not infatuated this Catholic Bishop, could he have helped starting at his own comparison of a ftone, as applied to Luther and the Reformation, when it might fo naturally have put him in mind of that prophetical STONE, which fhall one day become a great mountain, and break in pieces a certain IMAGE, and fland for ever [Dan, ii, 35, 44-]? that of DÆMON-WORSHIP, or ANTICHRISTIAN IDOLATRY, faftened upon her. Nor let the followers of that communion think to elude this charge, by faying, That they only request the faints, as we commonly do any good man, to pray for them [i]. Falfe, and difingenuous! False; because their breviaries and litanies fhew, that they fupplicate the faints to befriend them by their own inherent power, or to intercede for them to the throne of God by virtue of their own personal merits [k], in blafphemous derogation to the all-atoning and [] L'Eglife, en nous enfeignant qu'il eft utile de prier les Saints, nous enfeigne à les prier dans ce même efprit de charité, et felon cet ordre de fociété fraternelle qui nous porte à demander le fecours de nos freres vivans fur la terre; et le Catechifme du Concile de Trente conclut de cette doctrine, que fi la qualité de Mediateur, que l'ecriture donne à Jesus Christ, recevoit quelque préjudice de l'interceffion des Saints qui regnent avec Dieu, elle n'en recevroit pas moins de l'interceffion des fideles qui vivent avec nous. M. BossUET, Expofition de la doctrine de l'Eglife [k] Vitringa, p. 603, 604. incommunicable interceffion of Jesus. Dif ingenuous, too; because they know very well, that the queftion is concerning unseen and heavenly mediators only, not men like ourselves, fuch as we live and converse with on earth; whom we only ad monish of their duty, and to whom we only do ours, when we call upon them to exert an act of piety and common charity in praying for their fellow-chriftians. Our meaning is but that which the Apostle well expreffes, when he would have us confider one another, to provoke unto love and to good works [1]; and not at all to fupplicate our Christian brethren as powerful interceffors, in whofe meritorious virtues we confide, and to whom, as poffeffing a proper interest in the Almighty, by the worth of their own perfons, we commit our deareft concerns, The forgiveness of our fins, and the falvation of our fouls. "But this, it will be faid, is a very defective, and even unfair, account of the [7] Heb. x. 24. N 3 matter. matter. We do more than admonish our brethren of their duty, when we follicit their prayers for us. We invite them directly, and formally, to intercede for us to the throne of Grace. We are allowed, nay encouraged, to lay a ftrefs on their interceffion; and, what is more, we are given to understand that fuch interceffion, efpecially if it be made by good men, will have weight and influence in heaven. What else is the meaning of the Apostle, when he affures us, That the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James v. 16. And, if the prayer of a righteous man, much more the prayer of glorified faints and angels." I have put the argument, I think, in all its force, and (because the advocates of the papal cause affect to think it unanswerable) fhall examine it, with care. "We apply to good Chriftians, or to those we esteem fuch, to intercede for us by their prayers to heaven." We do so; and are encouraged in this application, by the the example, and by the directions, of the Apostles. For I shall not take advantage of what fome have conceived to be the meaning of St. James, in the place alledged, where he attributes fo much to the prayer of a righteous man, That the prayer, there spoken of, is the prayer of faith, or a spiritual gift miraculously conferred on the first teachers of the Gospel, and confined to their ministry: I will not, I fay, take advantage of this glofs; because, whatever foundation it may feem to have in the context of that epiftle, I allow it to be clear from other places of the New Teftament [m], That the duty of Christians is to pray, that is, to intercede, for each other. But then I defire it may be observed, 1. What difference there is between de firing good men to pray for us, in the Gospel sense of that duty; and defiring Saints and Angels to pray for us, in the fense of the papal rituals. We request [m] Theff. v. 25. 1 Tim. ii. 1. and elsewhere, paffim N 4 thofe |