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time come before God, and prefent their Requefts to him on their behalf. They have liberty always to reprefent their Grievances, and prefer their Petitions to him for his Help and Succour, to be fent to thofe whom they watch over: Prayer you know in the holy Language, is called the feeking of Gods Face, and looking up to him. Upon which Account, the beholding of his Face here in my Text, may without wrefting the Words, be expounded concerning their praying for us, and defiring good Things to be granted to us.

But I have nothing for certain to affirm of this Matter; let me only defire you to observe a Thing which it is seasonable here to add : That fhould we grant they pray for us, yet it doth not follow that it is lawful for us to pray to them, and befeech them to pray for us, we may not addrefs our Devotions to them, that they would be our Mediators and Interceffors with God, as the Romish Church now doth. It is very probable, that from what the Scripture faith concerning the Angels being prefent in Chriftian Affemblies, and from this pious Opinion that they are fo charitable as to fecond our Prayers with their own; fome indifcreet and forward People took occafion to invocate them, and pray to them to be their Interceffors with the Divine Majefty; which rafh, and ungrounded piece of Devotion, feems to have fprung up very early among fome Profeffors of Christianity; for St. Paul warns the Coloffians that they should -ufe due Care, leaft any Man beguiled them of

their

their Reward, by a voluntary Humility and WorShipping of Angels, intruding into thofe Things which he bath not feen, vainly puft up by his flefbly Mind, as you read Chap. 11. 18. There was a great pretence of Humility in it, as there is ftill among the Papifts; they thought it was too much boldness to approach to God, nay, to our bleffed Saviour immediately, though God hath appointed him to be the only Mediator, and therefore in great Lowlinefs, as it seemed, they would take the Angels in their way, and by them have their Petitions addreffed to our Lord Chrift. But the Apoftle plainly tells them, that these Men who made fhew of fuch Humility, and look'd as if they durft not be too bold, were indeed proud and confident Men, a great deal more bold than they ought to have been, intruding into Things that they had no knowledge of, and devifing a Religion of their own, tas not content with what God had revealed. And thus the Christian Church ever after in the best Times, condemned this worshipping of Angels from this Place of St. Paul, for it ftill continued among fome fuperftitious People. The Council of Laodicea made an exprefs Canon against it; and Theodoret faith, that it was a leaving or forfaking of our Lord Jefus Christ. And Irenæus before him faid, that the Church throughout the World receiving divers Benefits from God, renders Acknowledgments in the Name of Chrift, not ufing the Invocation of Angels, but purely, clearly, and holily directing their Prayers to the Lord of all, in the Name of Je

fus;

fus; and fo Origen plainly writes, though afcribing as much to Angels, as any Man. We find, faith he, that thofe Spirits who from their Office are called Angels, are like

·

tra Celf,

wife from their excellent Nature, cal- Lib. 8. con led Gods; but they are not called fo because we should learn to adore or worship them with divine Honour, though they minifter, and bring to us the Gifts of God: No, wãmur Mev S dénow, &c. for all Supplication, and Prayer, and Interceffion, and Thanksgiving, ought to be sent to God, the Lord of all, by that HighPriest who is above all Angels. And in another Place, where Celfus confeffes, that indeed he would have God to be in all our Thoughts Night and Day, in Publick and Private, in Word and Deed, but yet thinks that we may evμeviceθα τὲς τῆδε ἄρχονίας, indeavour by our Devotions to fweeten the Rulers of this World, (i. e. the Dæmons or Angels) and render them favourable to us; Origen thus anfwers him in thefe memorable Words; Our fole endeavour is to render God Merciful and Gracious to us, and he isμζόμενος ουσεβείᾳ καὶ πάσῃ ἀρετῇ, drawn to be our Friend by Piety, and all manner of Vertue. Then as the Shadow follows the Body, fo alfo will the Angels, and all the Powers of Heaven follow his Will, and become our Friend, when once he declares that he is our Friend; we need not doubt of their good Will, when we have obtained his. We need not intreat, nor fupplicate them for it; because they have the fame Sense

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with God, and will take Delight in thofe whom he thinks worthy of his Favour.

They will not only bear a good Will to us, but alfo work together with us for our good; inTomuch that I dare fay, navps Meta wegaypéos, &c. that with Men who out of choice and good Will, prefer the moft excellent Things, and pray to God continually; there are Thoufands of holy Powers who not invocated at all, -will joyn their Prayers, and petition God together with them for his Bleffing.

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What can be more plain than these Words, which are enough to make all thofe blufh, if they had any Shame left in them, who make fuch loud Noifes to perfwade the World that all Antiquity is on their Side, and, yet stand so ma-nifeftly condemned by its exprefs Sentence, whilft enhey pray to Angels to be their Patrons, and do their Bufinefs for them in Heaven. They alledge cindeed, that Place of Jacobs which I had occafi-on to mention in the Morning, to juftifie. this paganifh Practice Gen. 48.016. But in truth he faith not a word to their Purpofe, for there is no Prayer to be found there to the Angel, nor fo much as any Compellation of him. He doth not fay, O thou Angel whobhaft kept me, preserve them, or affift them with thy Help, and nthy Prayers, which would have been to the Business, but only defires that they might fare -cwell, as hershad done by the Miniftry of the Angelu which had attended on him: In short, this Sentence is only durinor, as the Greeks speak by way of Wish or Defire, not Tentinor by

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way

way of Supplication or Prayer. Good Facob relates what the Angel had done for him all his Life long, and withes he may do as much for his Grand-children after he was dead.

Now every one knows, that a Wish or a Defire that a good Thing, or happy Succefs may be, is no Prayer unto that Thing that it would be fo, unless we will imagine (they are the Words of a very learned Writer of Bp. Montague. ours) that Balaam prayed to his own Soul, when in the felf fame Form of Words he defired, let my Soul die the Death of the Righteous, (foit is in the Latin ) or that David prayed to the Angel, when he faid, let the Angel of the Lord perfecute him, Pfal. 35. 6. where he only defires it may be fo, but prays not to the Angel that he would do it. What other Places they bring to the fame Purpose, I muft not ftay now to enquire, because I take this only in my way; and you may be fure there are none which contradict the exprefs Sentence of St. Paul, who condemns, in fo many words, this worship-, ping of Angels, as a daring Invention of vain and proud Minds, who not fatisfied with the Chriftian Simplicity, would have a number of Mediators, and take their choice among them as they thought good.

To conclude this Point, we need not doubt in the laft Place, but

V. After all this Affiftance which the holy Angels give us, they will be prefent, and ready to help us in the Agony of Death. They of fer their Service to tranfport the Souls of good K k

Men,