The Protestant religion truely stated and justified by the late Reverend Mr. Richard Baxter ; prepared for the press some time before his death ; whereunto is added, by way of preface, some account of the learned author, by Mr. Danel Williams and Mr. Matthew Sylvester.

The Three and Thirtieth accused Point.

That we ought not to beseech God, to grant our prayers in favour of the Saints, or their Merits: Nor do we receive any benefit thereby.

Ans. This is before answered to the 17th. Accusation. I told you that we hold, that God blesseth Children for their Holy Parents sakes, their Relation making the welfare of the one to be the others: And God blessed others for Josephs sake, and sometimes preserveth whole Countries for the sake of the Godly there: And on what account, and how far, I will not a∣gain repeat.

And the Union and Communion of Saints in Heaven and Earth are so near, that I dare not say that God doth any good to any one faithful Soul, that is not in some respect for the sake of all the rest; as the Cure of an aking Tooth is for the sake of all the Body: That is, 1. For the good of the whole. 2. And done out of love to the whole.

But this will not satisfie confounding De∣ceivers. No doubt it is dead Saints that

he meaneth: And what he meaneth by Merits, I suppose he knoweth not himself; or else he would have told us: How far we own, or abhor the pretence of Merits, I shewed before. All Saints are saved by the full sufficient Merits of Christ, and have none at all of their own, unless the amiableness of Grace freely given them be called their Merits, as a thankful Child more deserveth his Fathers Love, (that is, is more Lovely) than a Rebel that scorneth him; and a piece of Gold deserveth to be esteemed above Dirt; and a Nightin∣gale above a Toad. Yea their own Je∣suit Vasquez, not only denieth all Merit of God in Commutative Justice, (as all save Romans and a few such Sots do,) but also in point of distributive Justice, by which he seemeth to deny Merit more than Pro∣testants do. For by Merit we mean but Moral aptitude, for the reward of a free Benefactor who is also Rector, when the or∣dering of a free Gift suspended on official Conditions, is sapientially made a means of procuring Obedience.

Whatever God hath promised to give us for other Men's sake, that he will so give. But our Faith shall not go beyond his Promise: If God have told us any where, who Saint Nicolas, and St. Becket,

and St. Christopher, and St. Joan, and St. Jane, and St. Winifrid are, and what they were to us more than others, and that they were real Saints, and that he hath promised us Mercy for their sakes, and bid us pray to him for their Meriting for us; let them shew us this in his Word. But if it be only the Popes Command and Pro∣mise, let his Subjects obey and trust it.

We are certain that none but Saints are saved: And why then must I go to God, for the Merits of St.Nicholas, or St.Bridget, any more than for the Merits of all the rest, which are many Millions?

As God is jealous of his Honour against Idols, so is he of Christs Honour against Antichrists and false Mediators, and we must do nothing that seemeth to ascribe any part of Christs proper Office of Me∣diation to any Creature: And doth it not seem so, if we pray, Lord hear, pardon and save me for the Merits of Becket or Bridget, &c. For what more can we say of the Merits of Christ?

But still mark, that these men say not that, we must pray thus for the Merit of Saints, but that we may: And must all be Burnt or Damned that will not do all that the Pope thinks they maey do?

That we receive no benefit by them, is a forged Calumny and not our Doctrine: We believe that the Jews had benefit by Abraham, Moses, David, when they were Dead: And that the Reformed Chur∣ches have had benefit by the Blood of the Martyrs, shed by the Blood-thirsty Pa∣pists to this day; and that the whole Church hath benefit by the Writings of Chrysostom, Nazianzene, Augustine, &c. Luther, Calvin, &c.