Downame - BV209_D69_G6_1640_v1

6 Who ought to prey. Church triumphant in heaven, to whom neither the commandments injoyning this duty,nor the promi- fes made to prayer, nor the direìons which teach how to pray are direaed. For although the word of God hath revealed that they are converfant in the one part of invocation, that is,in praifing & glo- rifying God ( wherein we are to imitate them, that we may do this will of God, r.Theff5.i8. as the Saints and Angels do it in heaven) yet as touching the otherpart, which is prayer or petition, for what or for whom they pray in particular, the Spirit of God in the Scriptures bath not revealed : and it is but foolifh curiofitie to feek to be wife above that which is written. For herein efpecially is that ve- rified, Rue fapra nos nihil ad nos, that is, Things above us belong not unto us : much leffe ought we with the fuperftitious Papifts upon an erroneous conceit of theirs, I mean the Saints and Angels in particular, that is, fuch Saints and Angels praying for us in particular, ground an idolatrous praUice of our praying unto them. But of this alfo more hereafter. 2. Seeing we confider it as the dutie of the li- ving, Ifa. 3 8.19. we are more particularly to confi- der both who in this world are required to pray,and alfo what is required in them that do pray. This dutie is required of all men living without excepti- on : All are to call upon God. And that their pray- er may be accepted of God, it is required of all that they fhould have faith. For as much therefore as we are to define prayer as it is effeduall and acce- ptable , for that caufe I defined it to be the fpeech of