But they will say, that this condition of interceding, or saving, through the merits of Christ, is implied, though not expressed. I reply then,
2. That, admitting it to be so, there is, yet, the widest difference between praying to Saints and Angels to pray for us, though in the Gospel forms of intercession; and merely requesting good men to pray for us, in those forms. The latter address is made in a way remote from all appearance of idolatry, and free from the suspicion of it: The former, is preferred in the place, at the time, with the posture, in the language, in short, with all the circumstances and formalities of divine worship.
3. I observe, that, when we ask the prayers of men, we know that they hear our address to them: We cannot even suppose thus much of Saints and Angels, without ascribing to them the incommunicable attributes of the Almighty.
Still, it may be insisted, That prayers, whether offered up to God by men, or glorified spirits, are however to be considered in the light of Intercessions; and that therefore, so far as we combat the practice of saint-worship on that ground, Protestants, as well as Papists, when they employ the prayers of others, are guilty of idolatry.
This, in truth, is the hinge, on which the question turns: And, to shew the difference of the two cases, palpably and clearly, I say,
Fourthly, and lastly, That the Gospel, in permitting, or rather in commanding us to ask the prayers of each other, justifies this sort of intercession, and absolves it from the blame and guilt of idolatry. It gives a sanction to this mode of mediating with God by his Saints, on earth; and does not regard it as a practice that interferes with the mediatorial office of Jesus, in Heaven.
The same Gospel, on the contrary, (I inquire not, for what reasons) says not a word, from which we can infer, that any such address is directed, or permitted, to be made to Angels or Spirits. It even condemns all addresses of this kind, under the opprobrious name of unauthorized, or Will-worship[223]. Though we be allowed, then, to have good men, in some sense, for our mediators or intercessors on earth, we are not allowed to have any mediator or intercessor in the tabernacle of heaven, but Jesus, the great high priest of Christians, only. This last sort of intercession, by Angels and glorified Saints, is against the spirit and letter of our religion. It is a practice, which, not being enjoined, is forbidden; which, being disallowed, is reprobated. In a word, It entrenches on the incommunicable honour and prerogatives of the great, the appointed, the sole Mediator in Heaven, seated at God’s right hand, who ever liveth to make intercession for us[224]. It sets up new mediators, without, and against his leave: It is, then, un-christian, and idolatrous.
Thus at length, I suppose, it appears indisputably, That we are neither unreasonable, nor uncharitable, in charging IDOLATRY, as well as the other two anti-christian vices of pride, and intolerance, to the account of papal Rome.
V. The last prophetic mark of Antichrist, which I shall have time to point out to you, and what perhaps you may esteem the most material of all, is, The TIME in which that power is said to make its appearance in the world.
It hath been already observed[225], that the chronology of the prophecies is, for the most part, not defined with that exactness, which we expect in historical compositions. It is commonly expressed in terms that may be interpreted with some latitude; or, when the date is more precisely delivered, we are still at a loss, in some respect or other, before the event, in what manner to form our calculation. However, the expression is not so loose and vague, but that we may clearly apprehend about what time the predicted event will come to pass.