Of the due Honouring if :Beparted Saiuts. 759 to confound the venemous calumnies of the Serpents Seed. Yea God will have the Names of his emi– nent fervants to be honoured upon earth, for the honour of thtir Head, and of his Grace and Go– fpel : fo that lvhile malice would call difhonour upon Chrill, from the meannefs and failings of his fervants that are alive, the memory of the dead, (who were once as much defpifed and fiandered ) {hall rife up againll them to his honour and their Chime. And it is very obfcrvable how God con– llraineth the bitter enemies of Holinefs to bear this Tellimony for the honour of Holinefs againll thernlclvcs ! that many who are the 'ruelefi perfecutors and murderers of the Living Saints, do honour Jhe Dead even to cxcefs. How zealous are the Papills (or the multitude of their Holy dayes, . and the honouring oftheir Names and Reli6h, and pretending many Miracles to bewrought by a very Concal. hrer. touch of their Shr.ines or Bones, whilefi they revile and muder thofe that imitate them, and deprive fuh. Innoc. 1· Temporal Lords of their Dominions that will not exterminate them. Yea, while they burn the can•J· Jiving Saints, they make it part of th~ir crime or Herefie, that they honour not the Dayes and Relicts of the Dead, fo much 41 tbey: To !hew us that the tbingr that IJ#ve been jhaU be, and that wickednefs is the fame in all generations : Matth. 23· 29, 30,3 1, 32, 33• Woe unto you Scribes and Pharifur, Hypocrim! b"aufe ye build the Tombet of the Prophm, •nd garnijh the Stpulchm of tbt righttoU<; and fay, If we bad httn in the dozyts of our{11thers, we would not have bun partak.!rs with them in tht blood of tbt Prophet!: whertfore ye be witncffn to your felvts that ye are the Children of them whic{, kjUed thePropiJetJ• FiN ye up thtn tbt meafure of )'DHr fatbt.rs: Ye Serpents, yt. generatto~;t of Vtptrs, how can ye efcttpe the damnation of HeU. 1 know that neither did the Pbari{tes, nor do the Papijfs, believe that thofe whom they murdered were Saints; but Deceivers and Heretic~s, and the troublers of tht World : But if Charity be the grace moll neceffary to falvation; then fure it will not keep any man from damnation, that he had malice and uncbaritablenefs fufficient to pufwade him, that the members of Chrill were Children of the Devil. But thus God will force even the perfecutors and_ haters of his Saints to honour them. And if he conllrain his tncmier to it, his fervanti fhould not be backward to do it according to his will. , 9· 4· Dir<fr. 4· Only fuch Honour muft. be f!,ivcn to ~eparted Saint!, 41 [8bferveth the Honour of. God; Dire{J. +• ·and nothing muj! be afmbed t• them that " h11 prerogatm : All that of God whiCh was commumcated to them and appeared in them,mufl be acknowledged: But fo that God mufl be flill acknowledged the fpring of all ; and no honour given ultimately to them; but it is God in them ·that we mull behold, and Love, admire and honour. 9· 5· Direfr. 5· The Honour oftheSaintr departed muft beonlyfuch at tendeth to the promoting ofHoli- Dire/1. S• ·nefs among the living. It is a mofi horrid aggravation of thofe mens fins, who make their Honour.. ing of the S•ints departed, a cover for their hating and pcrfecuting their followers : or that make it an engine for the carrying on fome bafe defign; Some make it a devifc for the advancing of their lt.~rties and peculiar Opinions: The Papifts make it avery great means,for the maintaining the Ufurped power of the Pope ; giving him the power of Canonizing Saints, and afi'uring the world what fouls are in Heaven :. A Pope that by the tclliun.;t1r of ::~.Gcncul Coum.il (as J ob. 23. Eugeniur, &c.) is a Herctick, and a wicked wretch, and never hke to come to Heaven him{clf, can afrure the world of a very large Catalogue of perfons that are there : And he that by the Papills is confcfi'ed faUible in matters of fal:l, pretendeth to know fo certainly who were Saints, as to appoint them Holy dayes, and command the Church to Pray to them : And he that teacheth men that they cannot be certain themfelvcs of their falvation, pretendeth when they are dead that he is certain that they ' arc faved : To pretend the Veneration of Saints for fuch carnal ambitiouii de6gncs, and cheats, and cruelties is a fin unfit for any that mentioneth a..Sai~t. So i:. it when men pretend that Saints arc forne rare extraordinary per[ons among the living members of the Church ; to make men believe that bonoHring them _. will fe1ve inO:ead of imitating them; and that all are not Saints that go to Heaven; [God forbid Rem. '·1• fay_ they, that none but holy perfons fhould be faved :. we confefs it is good to be Saints, and they ar~ ~~~:· 3 'j,'' the chit[ in Heaven : but we hope thofe that are no s.. nts may be faved for all that. J But God faith Eph. I. 8. that rPithout Holintfs nom P,aU fee him, Heb. 12. •4· Heaven is the inheritance of none but Saints; &: 2. 1g. 'AU. 26. 1 S. Col. I· 12• He that extolleth Saints to make men believe that thofe that are no Saints & 1· 11 • may be faved, doth fcrve the Devil by honouring the Saints. The fame I may fay of thofe that give ~,~.~·f. , 1 ,– them Divine honour, afcnbmg to each a power to hear and help all throughout the world that put up ,4, prayers to them. 9· 6. Direfr. 6. Loolt up to the bieffedne[s of d'f'"tdl foulr, 41 members of the fame body, rejoycing Dircll. ~. -,ith them, and·praijing God that bath fo exalttd them. This, is the benefit of boly Lovt, and Chrillian · Vnity, that it makcth our brtthrtnl happint{s to be unto us, in a manner as if it were our o'R'n. 1 Cor. 12• 25, 26. That thmjhould be no fchifminthe Body, but that the members jhould have the fame cart one for another- that if one memhcr be honourtd aU 1he membtrs rt.joice with it. So far as [elfijhnefs is overcome, and turned into the Vniting L<we of S•ints, fo far are all the joyer of the bleffed fouls in Heaven, become the )oyes of all that truly Love them upon earth. How happy then is the fiate of all uuc believers, that have fo many to rejoice with ? Deny not God that Thanks for the [,~.... ving of fo many fouls, which you would not deny him~ if he faved but your friends, efiatcs or lives. Erpecially when affiidions or temptations would d.eprive you of the J oy which you fhould have in Goas me.rcics to your felvu '~ then. co~f~rt your felves wit? the re~embrance ·of your bretbrent Joy• What an incongruous undecent thmg ts It for that man to pane away mfarrows upon earth, who hath fo many thoufind ftiendsin H•aven, in joy and blefi'ednefs, whofe Joyu fhould all be to him as his own?- , - Eeeeo
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