Addreffes are made to her, for one to God; and fucceffive Popes have granted large Indulgences and Bleffings to all that shall say it. Then their private Writers about her have gone incredible Lengths. One of their Cardinals, Bonaventure, by putting her Name instead of God's, and fome other neceffary Alterations, hath applied the whole Book of Pfalms to her. In the fame Manner he hath altered the Te Deum. We praife thee, O Mary, we acknowledge thee to be the Lady; and fo in the other Hymns of the Church. Nay, he hath made a Creed for her in Imitation of St. Athanafius's. Whoever will be faved, it is necessary that he bold the true Faith concerning Mary; which except a Man keep whole and undefiled, he shall perish everlastingly. Now if their Church do really disapprove thefe Things, why do they never cenfure them? Why is this very Man canonized for a Saint, whilst we are condemned as Heretics? For not content with thinking this Kind of Worship lawful, they pronounce accurfed whoever thall think otherwife. Another Thing we differ in, is this: They make Pictures of God the Father under the Likeness of a venerable old Man. Images of Chrift and of his Saints, They make after their own Fancy. Before thefe Images, and even that of his Cross, they kneel down and proftrate themselves to these they lift up their Eyes, and in that Posture pray. The leaft Appearance of Command, or even the Allowance, of fuch Practices in Scripture they pretend not; and yet against those who difallow them, they thunder out Anathemas. Now as to Pictures of the Father Almighty, whom no Man either bath feen, or can fee'; all vifible Figures must represent him fuch as he is not, must lead the Ignorant into low and mean Ideas of him, and give those of better Abilities, from a Contempt of fuch Representation, a Contempt of the Religion that uses them. Anciently the Heathens themselves had no Images of God; and a very learned Heathen obferves, that if they had never had any, their Worship would have been the purer; for the Inventors of these Things, says he, leffened among Men the Reverence of the Divine Nature, and introduced Errors concerning it. The Jews, though the Old Testament figuratively expreffes, in Words, the Power and Attributes of God by Parts of the human Form, were yet most strictly forbidden all fenf 1 Tim. vi. 16. * Varro ap. S. Aug. de Civ. Dei. 1. 4. c. 31. where he fays they had none for 170 Years. But Tarquinius Prifcus introduced them. See Tenifon on Idol. p. 59. fible Representations of him under any Form. Take good Heed unto yourselves, fays Mofes, for ye faw no Manner of Similitude on the Day that the Lord fpoke to you in Horeb ; left ye corrupt yourselves, left ye forget the Covenant of the Lord your God, and make the Similitude of any Figures for the Lord thy God is a confuming Fire, even a jealous God". Accordingly we find, that when they had made a Golden Image, tho' it was exprefsly defigned in honour of that God who brought them out of Egypt, it was notwithstanding punished as Idolatry. And far from allowing to Chriftians, what was then forbidden the Jews, St. Paul most severely condemns it in the very Heathens, that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, but became vain in their Imaginations, and changed the Glory of the incorruptible God, into an Image made like to corruptible Man. Yet how near doth this approach to what the Church of Rome doth nów, in making Pictures of God the Father! Our bleffed Saviour indeed, having taken on him human Nature, is capable of being reprefented in a human Form. But, as all fuch Reprefentations must be imaginary ones, fo they are uselefs ones too: the Memorial of himself, which Deut. iv. 15-24. i Rom, i, 21, 23. he he hath appointed in the Sacrament, we may be affured is fufficient to all good Purposes; and these other Memorials have always produced abfurd and wicked Superftitions. As for the Images of the Saints, it is fufficient to say, that there being no Pretence for worshipping the Saints themselves, there is yet lefs Pretence for worshipping these Representations of them. But here the Church of Rome will fay we wrong them they do not worship Images, but only Chrift and his Saints by these Images. But indeed it is they who wrong themselves then. For not a few of their own Writers * frankly own they do worship Images, and with the fame Degree of Worship that they pay to the Perfons whose Images they are. And for the Crofs particularly, in their public Offices, they exprefly declare themselves to adore it, and in plain Words, petition it in one of their Hymns, to give Increaje of Grace to the Righteous, and Pardon to the Guilty. This they say is a poeti cal Licence; and truly, in fo ferious a Thing as Worship, no small one. But farther: had k k * Aquinas, &c. See Trapp. Ch. of England defended, p. 219, They put in the Index Exp. thofe Paffages in Marginal Notes and Indexes, that say the contrary. See Inftances, ib. p. 235. They are to be worshipped, fays Bellarmine, ita ut ipfæ terminent venerationem, ut in fe confiderantur & non folum ut vicem gerunt axemplaris. Bellarm. de Imag. 1. ii, §. 21. ap. Vitr. in Ïs. xliv. 20. they they no Regard to the Image, but only to the Perfon represented, why is an Image in one Place looked upon to have fo much more Power and Virtue, than an Image of the fame Perfon in another Place? Why hath that of our Lady of Loretto, for Inftance, fo much more Honour done it, than that of our Lady any where else? We own the Council of Trent does gives a Caution, that no Divinity be ascribed to Images, nor any Truft put in them: And the Heathen gave the like Caution often with Respect to theirs: but this never hinders the Scripture from condemning them as Idolaters. And the Reason is, that fuch Cautions never are, or can be observed by the Multitude. Place fenfible Objects before them to direct their Worship to: and in those Objects their Worship will terminate. This the primitive Chriftians faw too plainly in the Heathens, ever to think of imitating them. Accordingly neither Images nor Pictures were allowed in Churches for near 400 Years. And when, after being more than once condemned, they came to be allowed, no Honour was intended to be paid to them. On the contrary, when it began to be paid, which indeed was not long, it was feverely cenfured, and particularly in the eighth Century, by above 300 Bi fhops, |