2 TheS. II. 12.] THE TENTH SERMON. 99
of the means of salvation, contrar}' to the express injunctions from God: John v. 39, ' Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal Hie, and they are they which testify of me ;' Col. iii. 16, ' Let tiie word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns.' The saints are com- mended, Acts xvii. 11, 'In that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so ; ' and 2 Tim. iii. 15, that he ' knew the scriptures, which are able to make wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus.' This is the seed of life, food of souls, rule of faith and manners, our strength against temptations : 1 John ii. 14, ' I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.' Now to deprive the Lord's people of the bread of life, and word of life, what is it but to leave them to perish ?
The great charge is, they have pleasure in unrighteousness, that is, deliglit in idolatry, and corrupt or false worship, which is the greatest unrighteousness man can be guilty of. To evidence this, let us inquire — (1.) What is idolatry ? (2.) Prove how notoriously they are guilty of it.
First, What is idolatry ? It is a worshipping of a creature with divine worship, and whosoever giveth divine worship to a creature committeth idolatry. This proposition is evident in the scripture ; as when the Israelites worshipped the calf, literal or metaphorical idolatry, they are called idolaters : 1 Cor. x. 7, ' Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them ; as it is written. The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.' And the covetous, that giveth that delight and trust to his wealth which is only due to God, is called an idolater : Eph. V. 5, ' Nor covetous man, who is an idolater ;' and in many other places.
Secondly, Now, that the papists are guilty of this, I prove : —
1. By the several kinds of their idolatry : they have more variety of objects of worship than any society of men that ever lived in the world.
First, Angels are creatures, and that they worship angels them- selves confess. They consecrate churches unto them, offer solemn prayers unto them, and own the adoring them, though an angel for- biddeth this adoration : Kev. xix. 10, ' And he said unto me, See thou do it not, I am thy fellow-servant,' &c. And St Paul telleth us, that they that worship angels do not hold the head. Col. i. 18, 19, So that angel-worship proveth to be a damnable error.
Secondly, The adoration of saints, to whom they give religious wor- ship, and invoke them as helpers, and honour them with fastings, w^atchings, and prayers, as Suarez acknowledgeth ; and yet God is ex- press that he ' will not give his glory to another,' Isa. xlii. 8. They are to be honoured indeed for imitation, but not adored for religion.
The third object is the Virgin Mary, to whom they pray more than they do to God. In the rosary there is this prayer : Beata 3Iaria, salva omnes qui ie glorificant — and we beseech thee to hear us, good Lady ; that address, 3Ionstra ie esse matrem, and one divided, intei- ubera et vulnera, the breasts of the Virgin and wounds of Christ, as if the milk of the one were as sovereign and as precious as the blood
100 THE TENTH SERMON. [2 ThES. II. 12.
of the other. It were endless to rake in this filthy puddle : how many books are there concluded with Laus Deo et Virgini Deiparcc ? — that sometimes there is a more present relief by commemorating the name of Mary than by calling: on the name of the Lord Jesus ; — in their exclamations, Jesu ! Maria ! — how often in their Te Deum, We praise thee, 0 Lady ?
Fourthly, Adoration of images. This is more foul than all the former, because directed to a more gross object. Tiiis is prophesied of Antichrist, that he and his abettors shall ' worship idols of silver, and gold, and brass, and wood, and stone,' Rev. ix. 20. Now tell a papist of this, and they say they do not terminate their worship in the image, but in the part;/ whom it representeth ; the same said the pagan, Kon lapidem sed Jovem in lapide (Julian the apostate). But God hath forbidden bowing to or before an image.
Fifthly, The worshipping of the cross, not only by cupping, that is, bowing, cringing, but prayers. 0 crux, ave ! spes unica hoc pas- sionis tempore, auge piis justitiam reisque donaveniam — All hail, 0 cross ! our only hope this time of passion ; augment the godly's ^devo- tion, and foro^ive the transgression of the guilty.
Sixthly, The bread in the sacrament ; the papists give it cidtum lafrice, that worship which is due to God. Those heathens worshipped living animals, but these adore a piece of bread, kneel to it in their chapels and oratories, 3'ea, in the midst of the streets when it is car- ried in procession. These are the idols whom they worship ; and what hope of salvation is there in a religion where the heart is turned so much from God to the creature ?