For aswell the righteous, with their involuntary slips, as sinners, with their voluntary falls, do come within the compass of these Commemorations: wherein prayers are made, both for csinners that repent, and for righteous persons that have no such need of repentance. For sinners; that being by their repentance recovered out of the snare of the Devil, they may find mercy of the Lord at the last day, and be freed from the fire prepared for the Devil and his angels: For the righteous; that they may be recompensed in the resurrection of the just, and received into the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. Which kind of prayer being made for the best men that ever lived (even the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists, and Martyrs themselves) Christ only excepted; showeth that the profit which the Church intended should be reaped therefrom, was not ⟨p. 242⟩the taking away of the sins of the parties that were prayed for, but the honouring of their Lord above them: it being hereby declared, dthat our Lord is not to be compared unto any man; though a man live in righteousness a thousand times and more. for how should that be possible? considering that the one is God, the other man, (as the praying to the one, and for the other, doth discover) and the one is in heaven, the other in earth by reason of the remains of the body yet resting in the earth, until the day of the Resurrection, unto which all these prayers had special reference. This do I conceive to be the right meaning of Epiphanius his answer: as suiting best both with the general intention of the Church, which he taketh upon him to vindicate from the misconstruction of Aërius, & with the application thereof unto his objection, & with the known doctrine of Epiphanius, delivered by him elsewhere in these terms. eAfter death there is no help to be gotten, either by godliness, or by repentance. For Lazarus doth not go there unto the rich man, nor the rich man unto Lazarus: neither doth Abraham send any of his spoils, that the poor may be afterward made rich thereby; neither doth the rich man obtain that which he asketh, although he entreat merciful Abraham •ith instant supplication.
For aswell the righteous, with their involuntarie slipps, as sinners, with their voluntarie falls, doe come within the compasse of these Commemorations: wherein prayers are made, both for csinners that repent, and for righteous persons that have no such need of repentance. For sinners; that being by their repentance recovered out of the snare of the Divell, they may finde mercy of the Lord at the last day, and bee freed from the fire prepared for the Divell and his angells: For the righteous; that they may be recompensed in the resurrection of the iust, and received into the kingdome prepared for them from the foundation of the world. Which kinde of prayer being made for the best men that ever lived (even the Patriarches, Prophets, Apostles, Euangelists, and Martyrs themselves) Christ onely excepted; sheweth that the profite which the Church intended should be reaped therefrom, was not ⟨p. 242⟩the taking away of the sinnes of the parties that were prayed for, but the honouring of their Lord above them: it being hereby declared, dthat our Lord is not to be compared unto any man; though a man live in righteousnesse a thousand times and more. for how should that be possible? considering that the one is God, the other man, (as the praying to the one, and for the other, doth discover) and the one is in heaven, the other in earth by reason of the remaines of the body yet resting in the earth, untill the day of the Resurrection, unto which all these prayers had speciall reference. This do I conceive to be the right meaning of Epiphanius his answer: as suting best both with the generall intention of the Church, which he taketh upon him to vindicate from the misconstruction of Aërius, & with the application therof unto his obiection, & with the known doctrine of Epiphanius, delivered by him elsewhere in these terms. eAfter death there is no helpe to be gotten, eyther by godlinesse, or by repentance. For Lazarus doth not goe there unto the rich man, nor the rich man unto Lazarus: neyther doth Abraham send any of his spoyles, that the poore may be afterward made rich thereby; neyther doth the rich man obtaine that which he asketh, although hee intreat mercifull Abraham •ith instant supplication.
- cLuk. 15 ••.
- d[Greek or Hebrew]. Epiphan. contra Aëri. haer. 75.〈non-Latin alphabet〉. Epiphan. contra Aëri. haer. 75.
- e[Greek or Hebrew]. Id. cont. Cathar. haer. 59.〈non-Latin alphabet〉. Id. cont. Cathar. haer. 59.
