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OG 96 96196196

(96) 96 96 96 96.96)

SERMON XII

Of the Honour due to the Blessed Virgin Preach'd on Lady-Day, March 25. 1688.

LUKE I. 48, 49.

For behold from henceforth all Generations shall call me Bleffed: For he that is mighty hath done to me great Things, and holy is his Name.

T

Hefe Words are part of that Magnificat of Song of Thanksgiving which the Blessed Virgin made to God, in return of that wonderful Favour He had vouchfafed unto her, in esteeming her worthy to become the Mother of our Lord. And they contain in them a kind of Prophe cy of that Honour which the Chriftian Church fhould in all Ages to come pay to her Memory upon the account of it.

It is the Obfervation of our English Rhemifts in their Annotations upon this Place; "That this Pro"phecy is fulfilled in their keeping her Festival Days

1.

and

"and faying the Ave-Marie, and other Holy An "thems of our Lady. And that the Calvinists

therefore (fo they are pleased to ftile us) for not "doing of this, are not among these Generations "which call our Lady Bleffed. And in their Marginal Note on the fame Paffage, they very briskly ask this Question; "Have the Proteftants had al

ways Generations to fulfil this Prophecy? Or do "they call her Bleffed that derogate what they can "from her Graces, Bleffings, and all her Honour?

In answer to fo ignorant or fo malicious a Calumny, and to fhew that we, tho' we neither fay any Ave-Maries to her Honour, nor are engaged in any other part of that unwarrantable Superftition whereby they have fo long difhonoured God, abused the Bleffed Virgin, and fcandalized the Church of Christ, have yet as juft an Esteem for the holy Mother of our Lord, and proclaim her Blessednefs as much as either this Prophecy requires, or any fober orthodox Chriftian may be allowed to do it; I fhall crave leave to make ufe of that Occafion, the Solemnity of this Day offers to me, to enter on the Comparison between our felves and them. And could I be affured, That the Blest above have this Honour from God, to be made acquainted with thefe folemn Exercises of their Brethren here below; I would not doubt to appeal to the Holy Virgin her felf to judge betwixt us; who they are that do the most truly honour her, we who freely pay her all that Love, that Refpect, that Glory, that any Creature in her Circumftances can poffibly be thought capable of: Or they who by giving her more, raise her up to a State above the Condition of her Nature; and fo inftead of honouring her, difhonour that Son whom she was so happy as to bring into the World; and that God, who thought her worthy of fo great an Exaltation.

Now

Now in order to this End, I fhall obferve this following Method:

I. I will fhew what that Honour Is which the Bliffed Virgin is now capable of Receiving, and which accordingly we our felves this Day pay to her Memory.

II. I will lay before you fome Inftances of that
Additional Worship, which thofe of the
other
Church pretend is due to her,

III. I will offer fome of thofe Reafons for which we think fuch a Worship to be unlawful, and therefore refufe to give it to her.

I...

I begin with the first of thefe,

I. What that Honour is which the Blessed Virgin is now capable of receiving, and which accordingly we our felves pay to her Memory ?

2

For anfwer to which Enquiry, I fhall lay downthis plain, and I fuppofe, undeniable Foundation; viz. That however fome have been pleased to exalt the Glories and Prerogatives of the Holy MART to a very great, indeed to an extravagant Degree, fo as hardly to leave any Comparison between her and any other Creature, whether in Heaven or Earth; yet fince they ftill confefs her to be but a meer Creature, the Measure we must take whereby to judge, What Honour may warrantably be paid to her, muft be, to confider, What Honour any meer Creature, in her Circumftances, is capable of receiving:

X

And

And then, I prefume it cannot be justly faid, That we are not of the number of those who call the holy Virgin Bleffed; who upon this Foundation do freely profefs, That providing only for that juft Distance that ought to be obferved between the Adoration that we owe to God, and that Honour which we may be allowed to give to a Creature, there is no Refpect that we think too great to be given to her: Nor will we fcruple to pay her any Honour that does not entrench upon our Piety, and confound the Service of God and his Creatures together.

Were the Blessed Virgin yet prefent upon Earth with us, we would foon convince thofe our Accufers that we thought no Refpect too much for her, which either they or we are wont to give to the greatest Saints yet on Earth. Now that fhe is departed from us, all we can do is to follow her with our Efteem, our Praife, and our Imitation: That is, To give her all that Honour which any Creature in the fame Circumftances is fit to receive, or which it may be either Lawful or Reasonable for us to offer to fuch a one.

* See the Inftances of all the following Par ticulars in the 2d. Def.

of the Expof. of the England: part 2. artic. 3. Of the Invocation of

Doctr. of the Church of

We pray not indeed to her now, nor would we do it if she were ftill on Earth, and we were fure he could hear and know our Requests: Because Prayer we look upon to be an Act of religious Worship, and therefore fuch as is proper to God only. But we bless God for the Honour he vouchfafed unto her, when he made her the Mother of our Lord; with the Angel, we pronounce her Blefjed among Women; and that in that very Form which fhe her felf fet us for our Pattern; And fo every Day fulfil her Prophecy,

Saints.

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