And we may see here the difference that is between our worship of Christ the mediator, and the Papists’ worship of their saints and angels. They go first to their saints, to the blessed Virgin especially. To her they pray ;—what to do? To give them grace, merey, pardon
VER. 3-6. | EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS, 551
of sins, and saivation. This, indeed, many of them have done, and do, and that in a horrible, idolatrous, blasphemous manner. But this they commonly plead, that they only pray to saints that they would pray and intercede with God for them, granting that they may be mediators of intercession, though not of oblation. Well, then, their praying unto saints is one distinct act of worship, whereof the saints are the only object; which, they being mere creatures, is open and express idolatry. But now in our worship of God by Christ, it is the same worship whereby we worship the Father and the Son, the Father in and through the Son; with the same actings of faith and confidence, and by the same invocation,—the one as the object ultimately of our intercession, the other as the mediator of our ac- ceptance. But it will be said, May we not then pray to Christ to pray to the Father for us, which would be a distinct act of religious worship? I answer,—(1.) We have no precedent in Scripture nor warrant for any such address; (2.) It seems not agreeable to the analogy of faith that we should pray unto Christ to discharge his own office faithfully. But this we may do, we may pray unto him distinctly for grace, mercy, pardon, because he is God; and we may pray unto the Father by him, as he is owr mediator: which two modes of divine worship are sufficiently revealed in the Scripture.
Secondly, Having considered the formal reason of the glory in- sisted on, we are nextly to inquire after the great motive unto our giving him this glory, that makes him worthy of it, and obligeth us in especial duty to give it unto him. Christ our mediator, God manifested in the flesh, God and man, whole Christ, his divine and human nature in one person, is the object of our religious adoration and worship; and it is just, righteous, equal, that we should con- stantly and continually worship him, because he hath built the house of God, because of his work of mediation.
As it is in the first command, so it is in this matter, “I am the Lorp thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods be- fore me,” Exod. xx. 2, 3. Declaring himself to be the Lord God, he proposeth the formal reason of all religious worship, and that which makes it indispensably necessary. But yet, to stir the people up unto the actual performance of it, he adds that great motive in what he had done for them ;—he had brought them out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Had he not done so, all worship and honour divine was due unto him; but having done so, it is a strong obligation to bind them to diligence in its observance. So I say it is in this matter. Christ is to be worshipped because he is God, but the great motive hereunto is what he hath done for us in the work of redemption. And unto all that we have said in this matter we have the joint testimony of all the saints and angels
552 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. III.
of God: Rev. v. 8-13, “ And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the living creatures, and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing, And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever.” The whole of what we have asserted is here confirmed: for,—(1.) The Lamb here is Jesus Christ the Mediator, the Lamb of God that took away the sins of the world. (2.) The worship and honour aseribed unto him is holy, sacred, and religious, and that from the whole crea- tion. (3.) It is but one and the same worship that is given unto the Lamb and to him that sits upon the throne, even the Father. (4.) The reason hereof and great motive unto it, whence it is said that he is worthy of it,—that is, it is our continual duty to perform it unto him,—is because of the great things he hath done for us in our redemption and salvation; that is, his building of the house of. God.